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Issawi, 33, is among several hunger strikers currently held in Israeli prisons who are on strike against the practice of 'administrative detention' in which Israeli authorities detain Palestinians without charge or trial for indefinite periods of time.
Issawi has been on hunger strike for over 200 days and is on the verge of death. Reports have suggested that he has been force fed by Israeli guards to be kept alive.
"At 2:30am (0030 GMT), Israeli forces barged into our house without any warrant or order and locked us all in one room while five men attacked Shadi and took him away," Issawi's sister Shireen told Agence France-Presse. "Lawyers were not allowed access to him and he had a secret hearing without a lawyer which handed him a four-day detention."
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court is expected to have a hearing for Issawi on Tuesday.
"We don't know what to expect," his sister added.
Meanwhile, on Monday Palestinians blocked roads and held marches across the West Bank to protest against Israel's detention of thousands of Palestinians, many of them without charge or trial. The protesters demanded the release of Issawi along with three other hunger strikers Tareq Qaadan, 40, Jafar Ezzedine, 41 and Ayman Sharawna, 36, who are protesting against the inhumane conditions.
More than 1,000 people joined a rally of support in the northern city of Nablus, while another 1,500 gathered in the center of Hebron in the south to demand their release, AFP correspondents said.
"Freedom for the prisoners!" the protesters chanted.
Associated Press reports that near Bethlehem, Israeli forces chased protesters who blocked a major West Bank road: "Soldiers chased them with sticks and hurled tear gas and stun grenades between jammed cars as Palestinians blocked traffic, waving their national black-green-red-and-white flag and shouting support for the prisoners."
BBC News reports today that as of December 2012, Israel held 4,517 Palestinians in its jails. Of those prisoners:
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urging her to secure the release of unjustly detained Palestinian prisoners.
"We believe it is no longer acceptable to merely request better treatment of Palestinians in Israeli occupation prisons, but to demand an end to the arbitrary system of Israeli detentions," the letter said.
"We are asking you to prevent a tragedy and take immediate and definitive action to secure the freedom of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Issawi, 33, is among several hunger strikers currently held in Israeli prisons who are on strike against the practice of 'administrative detention' in which Israeli authorities detain Palestinians without charge or trial for indefinite periods of time.
Issawi has been on hunger strike for over 200 days and is on the verge of death. Reports have suggested that he has been force fed by Israeli guards to be kept alive.
"At 2:30am (0030 GMT), Israeli forces barged into our house without any warrant or order and locked us all in one room while five men attacked Shadi and took him away," Issawi's sister Shireen told Agence France-Presse. "Lawyers were not allowed access to him and he had a secret hearing without a lawyer which handed him a four-day detention."
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court is expected to have a hearing for Issawi on Tuesday.
"We don't know what to expect," his sister added.
Meanwhile, on Monday Palestinians blocked roads and held marches across the West Bank to protest against Israel's detention of thousands of Palestinians, many of them without charge or trial. The protesters demanded the release of Issawi along with three other hunger strikers Tareq Qaadan, 40, Jafar Ezzedine, 41 and Ayman Sharawna, 36, who are protesting against the inhumane conditions.
More than 1,000 people joined a rally of support in the northern city of Nablus, while another 1,500 gathered in the center of Hebron in the south to demand their release, AFP correspondents said.
"Freedom for the prisoners!" the protesters chanted.
Associated Press reports that near Bethlehem, Israeli forces chased protesters who blocked a major West Bank road: "Soldiers chased them with sticks and hurled tear gas and stun grenades between jammed cars as Palestinians blocked traffic, waving their national black-green-red-and-white flag and shouting support for the prisoners."
BBC News reports today that as of December 2012, Israel held 4,517 Palestinians in its jails. Of those prisoners:
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urging her to secure the release of unjustly detained Palestinian prisoners.
"We believe it is no longer acceptable to merely request better treatment of Palestinians in Israeli occupation prisons, but to demand an end to the arbitrary system of Israeli detentions," the letter said.
"We are asking you to prevent a tragedy and take immediate and definitive action to secure the freedom of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike."
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Issawi, 33, is among several hunger strikers currently held in Israeli prisons who are on strike against the practice of 'administrative detention' in which Israeli authorities detain Palestinians without charge or trial for indefinite periods of time.
Issawi has been on hunger strike for over 200 days and is on the verge of death. Reports have suggested that he has been force fed by Israeli guards to be kept alive.
"At 2:30am (0030 GMT), Israeli forces barged into our house without any warrant or order and locked us all in one room while five men attacked Shadi and took him away," Issawi's sister Shireen told Agence France-Presse. "Lawyers were not allowed access to him and he had a secret hearing without a lawyer which handed him a four-day detention."
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court is expected to have a hearing for Issawi on Tuesday.
"We don't know what to expect," his sister added.
Meanwhile, on Monday Palestinians blocked roads and held marches across the West Bank to protest against Israel's detention of thousands of Palestinians, many of them without charge or trial. The protesters demanded the release of Issawi along with three other hunger strikers Tareq Qaadan, 40, Jafar Ezzedine, 41 and Ayman Sharawna, 36, who are protesting against the inhumane conditions.
More than 1,000 people joined a rally of support in the northern city of Nablus, while another 1,500 gathered in the center of Hebron in the south to demand their release, AFP correspondents said.
"Freedom for the prisoners!" the protesters chanted.
Associated Press reports that near Bethlehem, Israeli forces chased protesters who blocked a major West Bank road: "Soldiers chased them with sticks and hurled tear gas and stun grenades between jammed cars as Palestinians blocked traffic, waving their national black-green-red-and-white flag and shouting support for the prisoners."
BBC News reports today that as of December 2012, Israel held 4,517 Palestinians in its jails. Of those prisoners:
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urging her to secure the release of unjustly detained Palestinian prisoners.
"We believe it is no longer acceptable to merely request better treatment of Palestinians in Israeli occupation prisons, but to demand an end to the arbitrary system of Israeli detentions," the letter said.
"We are asking you to prevent a tragedy and take immediate and definitive action to secure the freedom of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike."