15 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails continue their battle of empty stomachs to regain freedom

Despite the deterioration of their health condition, 15 prisoners in the Israeli occupation jails press ahead with their hunger strike in protest against the occupation’s continuous crimes against Palestinian prisoners and to draw the world’s attention to their plight.

The Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Commission said in a statement that the prisoners continue with their battle of empty stomachs to regain their freedom, but warned that signs of fatigue and loss of weight have begun to appear on their bodies and that their health condition exacerbates as the occupation continues to force them to stop their hunger strike through transferring them to solitary confinement cells and preventing visits by their relatives.    

The hunger strikers are Salem Zaidat, Mohammad Omar, Mujahid Hamed, Mahmoud Al-Fasfous, Kayed Al-Fusfous, Raafat Al-Darawish, Guevara Al-Namoura, Maher Dalaysha, Alaa Al-Din Ali, Ahmed Abdul Rahman Abu Sel, Mohammad Khaled Abu Sel, Hussam Taysir Rabei, Fadi Al-Amour, Ahmed Hassan Nazzal and Miqdad Al-Qawasma, according to the prisoners’ commission.

In a statement to SANA, Huda Al-Namoura, the mother of the prisoner Guevara, said that “danger to his life increases day after day. I know nothing about him after the occupation put him in solitary confinement. We are worried about him and his fellow prisoners.”

 “He has got a daughter, who is now 8-month-old, but he hasn’t seen her yet. Also, I didn’t hear his voice during Eid Al-Adha and I couldn’t hug him as all the mothers of the world do. The occupation is committing a crime after a crime against us, while the international community is watching the injustice and the oppression practiced against us by this occupation”, the mother added.

The father of Guevara, on his part, said that “my son is a professional footballer and one of the main players in the Palestinian National Football Team. He had many dreams to fight for in his sport career. Hunger strike has exhausted him as he has lost much of his weight. Now, he is suffering from severe pains and I feel worry about his health every moment…I can’t sleep and all what I wish is to see him and the other prisoners free”.

Meantime, Khaled Al-Fasfous, the brother of the two prisoners Mahmoud Al-Fasfous and Kayed Al-Fusfous, said that his brothers suffer from critical health condition, particularly Mahmoud who suffers from multiple diseases, including stomach ulcers, anemia and a broken jaw as a result of torture in the occupation prisons.

Mahmoud has been detained more than 10 times since he was 13-year-old. His total detention years reached 14, the brother added.

The spokesman of the Palestinian Prisoners Club Amjad Al-Najjar affirmed that the prisoners continue with their battle of empty stomachs in a bid to regain their freedom, pointing out that all the occupation’s arbitrary practices fail to break the prisoners’ will.

Al-Najjar said that the prisoners are in dire need for treatment as they are subjected to deliberate medical negligence just like all other sick prisoners in the occupation jails whose number exceeds 750, and many of them need urgent surgeries.

Some 5300 Palestinian prisoners continue to be held in the Israeli occupation jails, suffering from physical and psychological torture.

Hamda Mustafa