Israel suspends detention of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner

The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday ordered to temporarily suspend the administrative detention of a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike since November.

The Supreme Court issued the interim warrant to currently suspend the administrative detention of Mohammed Al-Qeeq, a 33-year-old Palestinian journalist from Ramallah, who is hospitalized in serious condition at a hospital in northern Israel.

Al-Qeeq was arrested in November for alleged links with the Islamist group Hamas and so-called involvement in terrorist activities. He was placed under administrative attention, a tool used mostly against security-related suspects, enabling the authorities to detain suspects for renewable periods of six months without filing an indictment.

He embarked on a hunger strike soon after his arrest, and was hospitalized three weeks ago. His lawyer, Jawad Boulos, told Israeli media he was on the "verge of death" last week.

Al-Qeek appealed his administrative detention to the Supreme Court. Thursday's decision is an interim warrant allowing family members to visit him at the hospital.

According to the court, the detention is suspended as long as he is getting treatment at the hospital, and once he gets better and wishes to be released, he would have to be turned in to the authorities again.

Boulos told the Walla! News website that his client will not end his hunger strike until the court completely revokes the detention.

Palestinian prisoners use hunger strikes to draw international attention to their detention and the lack of due judicial process. As of early August 2015, Israel was holding 340 Palestinians in administrative detention, according to official figures.

Fearing the death of Palestinian hunger strikers would spark violent clashes, Israel passed a controversial law allowing it to force-feed hunger strikers whose life are in danger.

Israel's Medical Association, the Doctors without Borders and other local and international organizations objected to the law.

In a similar case last year, Mohammad Allan, a Palestinian prisoner who went on a two-month hunger strike was released following a Supreme Court intervention, as his health deteriorated after a two-month hunger strike.

The decision came as tensions rise between Israelis and Palestinians with 26 Israelis and more than 160 Palestinians killed in an ongoing five-month wave of violence. Endit