SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Palestinian women take part in a demonstration in a mock cage to support Palestinian detainees on hunger strike. (Photo: Joe Catron/flickr/cc)
As Controversy of New Force-Feeding Law Lingers, Israel Suspends Detention of Palestinian Hunger Striker
Aug 19, 2015
Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the administrative detention of Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan.
Allan slipped into a coma last week after 60 days on hunger strike, and doctors say he has suffered brain damage.
He awoke from the coma on Tuesday, and pledged to resume the hunger strike and refuse water if Israel did not resolve his case within 24 hours.
"Due to the petitioner's medical condition he will remain in intensive care," the court ruling, issued late Wednesday, said. "This means that for now, owing to the hunger striker's medical condition, the administrative detention order is no longer operative."
As the Guardian points out, the court's ruling doesn't fully free Allan; rather, it "temporarily suspend[s] his detention without charge, and rul[es] he could apply again for release if and when his condition improves." Further, the Associated Press adds, the ruling "did little to resolve a debate over Israel's controversial practice of holding suspects without charge, or a new law permitting force feeding of hunger strikers." That new law has been criticized as providing "a legislative foundation for torture."
CNN offers this background on the case:
Israel has held Allan, a 31-year-old lawyer, on administrative detention since November 2014, with neither charge nor trial, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and of membership in the militant Islamic Jihad -- a claim his lawyer and his family deny. In protest, Allan began a hunger strike in June, only drinking water. His strike was aimed at his administrative detention, which allows Israel to hold someone for security reasons for renewable six-month periods. Allan wants to be charged, to be released, or to die.
In a statement Allan previously released to his attorney, he said, "Administrative detention returns us to slavery, and therefore I refuse to be a slave to anyone. The truth is that I currently prefer hunger as long as freedom is the goal in the absence of law in Israeli courts. So, I found myself forced to fight this battle."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the administrative detention of Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan.
Allan slipped into a coma last week after 60 days on hunger strike, and doctors say he has suffered brain damage.
He awoke from the coma on Tuesday, and pledged to resume the hunger strike and refuse water if Israel did not resolve his case within 24 hours.
"Due to the petitioner's medical condition he will remain in intensive care," the court ruling, issued late Wednesday, said. "This means that for now, owing to the hunger striker's medical condition, the administrative detention order is no longer operative."
As the Guardian points out, the court's ruling doesn't fully free Allan; rather, it "temporarily suspend[s] his detention without charge, and rul[es] he could apply again for release if and when his condition improves." Further, the Associated Press adds, the ruling "did little to resolve a debate over Israel's controversial practice of holding suspects without charge, or a new law permitting force feeding of hunger strikers." That new law has been criticized as providing "a legislative foundation for torture."
CNN offers this background on the case:
Israel has held Allan, a 31-year-old lawyer, on administrative detention since November 2014, with neither charge nor trial, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and of membership in the militant Islamic Jihad -- a claim his lawyer and his family deny. In protest, Allan began a hunger strike in June, only drinking water. His strike was aimed at his administrative detention, which allows Israel to hold someone for security reasons for renewable six-month periods. Allan wants to be charged, to be released, or to die.
In a statement Allan previously released to his attorney, he said, "Administrative detention returns us to slavery, and therefore I refuse to be a slave to anyone. The truth is that I currently prefer hunger as long as freedom is the goal in the absence of law in Israeli courts. So, I found myself forced to fight this battle."
Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the administrative detention of Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan.
Allan slipped into a coma last week after 60 days on hunger strike, and doctors say he has suffered brain damage.
He awoke from the coma on Tuesday, and pledged to resume the hunger strike and refuse water if Israel did not resolve his case within 24 hours.
"Due to the petitioner's medical condition he will remain in intensive care," the court ruling, issued late Wednesday, said. "This means that for now, owing to the hunger striker's medical condition, the administrative detention order is no longer operative."
As the Guardian points out, the court's ruling doesn't fully free Allan; rather, it "temporarily suspend[s] his detention without charge, and rul[es] he could apply again for release if and when his condition improves." Further, the Associated Press adds, the ruling "did little to resolve a debate over Israel's controversial practice of holding suspects without charge, or a new law permitting force feeding of hunger strikers." That new law has been criticized as providing "a legislative foundation for torture."
CNN offers this background on the case:
Israel has held Allan, a 31-year-old lawyer, on administrative detention since November 2014, with neither charge nor trial, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and of membership in the militant Islamic Jihad -- a claim his lawyer and his family deny. In protest, Allan began a hunger strike in June, only drinking water. His strike was aimed at his administrative detention, which allows Israel to hold someone for security reasons for renewable six-month periods. Allan wants to be charged, to be released, or to die.
In a statement Allan previously released to his attorney, he said, "Administrative detention returns us to slavery, and therefore I refuse to be a slave to anyone. The truth is that I currently prefer hunger as long as freedom is the goal in the absence of law in Israeli courts. So, I found myself forced to fight this battle."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.