Clashes at Palestinian rally for hunger striker

Palestinians and foreign activists chant slogans as they march with their hands chained together during a protest held in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in Gaza City, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. / AP Photo/Adel Hana

JERUSALEM Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers on Friday at a rally held in support of a prisoner observing an intermittent hunger strike to protest his incarceration.

The Israeli military said about 200 Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers who responded with tear gas during the rally outside Ofer prison in the West Bank. The protesters called for the release of Samer Issawi, who has been on an on-again, off-again hunger strike for several months as he serves time for alleged terror activity.

The prisoner issue is an emotional one for Palestinians after decades of conflict with Israel. Palestinians generally view them as heroes, regardless of the reason for their imprisonment — even when their crimes have involved killing civilians. Last year hundreds of Palestinian prisoners used hunger strikes to seek concessions from Israel.

Issawi, 35, was initially released in 2011 in a prisoner exchange. One Israeli soldier was freed from captivity in Gaza in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were convicted of being involved in suicide bombings and other deadly attacks.

Some prisoners, like Issawi, were released on condition of travel limits. Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said he was arrested after he violated the terms of his release. She said he was arrested for "terror activity" and sentenced to 26 years, but released in the 2011 prisoner swap after serving only six years.

Issawi is under medical supervision and eats periodically, she said.

Issawi's sister, Shirin, said he has been on hunger strike for 206 days. She said he has only been drinking water since January. She said the prison takes her brother to an Israeli hospital for treatment.

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The Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, Issa Qaraqe, said Issawi began his fast in August and has been observing it intermittently.

Qaraqe said Issawi had lost about 77 pounds, has kidney pain and has lost feeling in parts of the right side of his body.

He said there are four prisoners on hunger strike.

Human rights groups have warned of their worsening health.

"If, God forbid, any prisoner dies of hunger strike inside the prison, the situation on the ground will deteriorate," Qaraqe said. "People won't stand for any prisoner to die of a hunger strike."

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[RaimoKangasniemi]

Samer Issawi, Ayman Sharawna and their fellow political prisoners on hunger strike are not "terrorists". What the Israeli Apartheid regime accuses Samer of is visiting a village near occupied Eastern Jerusalem. Thats all there is to it. For that reason the racist Apartheid regime imprisoned him.

In Israel's brutal "administrative detention" system a person can be imprisoned without charges for 6 months and after 6 months that imprisonment can be renewed again without charges for 6 more months etc.

[Jackk27]

Why the hell would anyone give a crap if some low life criminal Islamist goes on a hunger strike?

Screw him! Let him starve himself to death!

[RaimoKangasniemi]

You are an ignorant excuse for a human being.

This article is biased; its basically Zionist propaganda but at least it helps to break silence.

Israel is an apartheid state committing ethnic cleansing. In the occupied territories it has a Jim Crow system of roads which only illegal Jewish settlers can use.

Worship that nasty and brutal monstrosity of a state if you wish.