Health conditions of 1,300 hunger-strikers have continued to deteriorate

Palestinians have continued to be transferred between Israeli prisons and to prison field clinics as the health conditions of some 1,300 hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners have continued to deteriorate as they entered the 33rd day of the mass strike on Friday, while clashes have erupted with Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in support of the hunger strikers.

The media committee formed to support the hunger strike reported that Israel Prison Service (IPS) has continued transferring Palestinian hunger strikers between Israeli prisons, with many hunger strikers being transferred from prisons located in southern Israel to the north.

All hunger-striking prisoners in Israel’s Nafha prison, where 400 hunger strikers are being held -- the largest group of hunger strikers among the prisons, were transferred to Hadarim prison, and from Shatta to Gilboa prison, the committee said.

Earlier reports from the committee had stated that all the prisoners participating in the mass hunger strike were previously transferred to Israel’s Beersheba prison in southern Israel, Shatta prison in northern Israel, and Ramla prison in central Israel, reportedly owing to their location near prison field hospitals -- sites which many fear will be used to force feed the hunger strikers en masse.

However, an IPS spokesperson said at the time that the transfer to Beersheba from Nafha and Ktziot prison was due to the prison’s location to central Israel in case prisoners had to be transferred to an Israeli hospital.

According to the committee, tens more Palestinian hunger strikers have been transferred to the prison field clinics, joining scores of other hunger strikers whose health conditions have deteriorated. The committee confirmed that imprisoned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmad Saadat and PFLP-affiliated journalist Muhammad al-Qiq have also been transferred to prison field clinics.

The committee stated on Thursday that Israeli doctors at the field clinics have reportedly offered medical care to the prisoners only in exchange for them ending their hunger strikes -- an offer the prisoners have continued to refuse.

A lawyer from the committee visited Israel’s Ashkelon prison where he said the health conditions of the hunger-striking prisoners were worsening “day by day,” and many have lost more than 20 kg of weight.

The lawyer also noted that many sick Palestinian prisoners have continued their hunger strikes despite their vulnerable conditions, including Othman Abi-Kharj, Yaser Abu Turki, and Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, whom are held in Ashkelon prison.