Al-Akhras’s battle of empty stomach turns him into a new Palestinian icon

The health condition of the Palestinian prisoner in the Israeli entity Maher al-Akhras continues to deteriorate as he enters his 100th day of open-ended hunger strike in protest against the occupation’s aggressive and criminal practices towards more than 4500 Palestinian captives.   

Al-Akras’s battle of empty stomach has turned him into an icon of pride and dignity and a myth of defiance against the Israeli occupation and its colonialist schemes. He continues with his hunger strike in order to send a message to the whole world about the necessity to stop the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians and to the international community that has done nothing to fulfill its moral duty regarding the tragedies of the prisoners whose only guilt has been rejecting and resisting the occupation and defending their rights.

“I do not want to die in the Israeli occupation jails … and if the international community wants to help me, let them transfer me to a hospital in the West Bank.. I want to die among my family … I want the prisoners, who previously went on a hunger strike, as well as the families of the martyrs, to carry my coffin. And, I call on my people to protect the homeland,” with these words, al-Akhras appealed to the international community to help him and put pressure on the Israeli occupation to release him, but his appeal fell on deaf ears, and that is why he continued his strike and refused to take any food supplements.

He stressed that freedom can’t be achieved through begging, but through resistance and struggle, reiterating that he will continue with his hunger strike until he wins freedom or martyrdom.

The mother of al-Akhras addressed the conscience of the world to save her son, saying: “I will not forgive anyone who kept silent and who did nothing to save Maher.”

In a statement, the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission warned of the worsening health condition of  al-Akhras, as he suffers from severe fatigue and began to feel pain in his heart. His hearing and speech have become impaired; he suffers from seizures, severe pain all over his body, and from blurred vision and severe headache. The commission pointed out that al-Akhras may experience a sudden relapse in one of his vital organs due to deficiency of salts and fluids in his body.

In the same context, dozens of Palestinian trade unionists announced an open hunger strike in support of al-Akhras and other prisoners who have been on a hunger strike for more than a week, namely Muhammad al-Zughayer, Basil al-Rimawi and Mahmoud al-Sa’di.

This move came after a solidarity stand in front of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Hamda Mustafa