Palestinian prisoner Sami Janazrah has been on hunger strike for 67 days. Janazrah, 43 and the father of three, is a Palestinian refugee living in Al-Fuwwar refugee camp. He has been held in Israeli administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – since 15 November 2015, and launched his hunger strike to demand his freedom.
The hearing on his appeal against his administrative detention was moved forward, to 10 May instead of 16 May, following a filing by his lawyer, Jawad Boulos, noting the deterioration in Janazrah’s health.
As’ad Radwan of Gaza City, 38, is now on his 14th day of open hunger strike, Safa News reported; he is striking in solidarity with Janazrah and his fellow hunger strikers against administrative detention, isolation, and medical neglect. He will speak about his ongoing strike outside the office of the Red Cross in Gaza City at a solidarity sit-in in support of the prisoners on Monday, 9 May.
A campaign was also launched in Salfit in solidarity with Mansour Moqtada, 46, imprisoned Palestinian on hunger strike against medical neglect. Moqtada was severely injured by Israeli occupation forces in 2002 and must use a wheelchair, a “plastic stomach,” and colostomy bags. He is imprisoned permanently in Ramle prison clinic. As part of his 27-day partial hunger strike (he consumes liquids only), he has refused medication for the past week, endangering his life and health.
Imprisoned hunger striker Mohammed Qawasmeh, 33, was transferred to the Ramle prison clinic from isolation in Ashkelon on Sunday, 8 May; he has been on hunger strike for 13 days in protest of his solitary confinement and experienced a deterioriation in his health.
Also on hunger strike are Fouad Assi and Adib Mafarjah, striking for 36 days since 4 April against their administrative detention without charge or trial; Muhannad al-‘Azzeh, striking for 15 days against medical neglect; and Majdi Yassin, a Swedish-Palestinian citizen arrested as he attempted to return to Sweden on 25 April and arbitrarily detained. He is held in Petah Tikva interrogation center.
Samidoun will protest in New York on 13 May at 4 pm outside the W. 44th Street office of prison corporation G4S, that provides equipment, security systems and control rooms to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and interrogation centers, calling for freedom for Janazrah, all of the hunger strikers and all Palestinian prisoners.
