40 new administrative detention orders issued; al-Qeeq in cell “like a grave” on second week of hunger strike

Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq is on his 14th day of hunger strike against his imprisonment without charge or trial under administrative detention. Imprisoned in isolation in Jalame prison, al-Qeeq told his lawyers on Sunday that his small cell is narrow, “like a grave.”

Al-Qeeq is currently imprisoned under a three-month administrative detention order; he was seized by occupation forces on 15 January as he returned from a demonstration demanding the Israeli occupation release the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel. After 22 days of interrogation, he was ordered to imprisonment without charge or trial. Al-Qeeq previously won his release from administrative detention in May 2016 with a 94-day hunger strike that drew widespread Palestinian and international attention.

Khaled Zabarqa, al-Qeeq’s lawyer, said that he had finally visited with al-Qeeq after repeated stalling and delays by Israeli intelligence. He noted that al-Qeeq is dizzy and experiencing loss of balance and pain, especially after his previous lengthy hunger strike. In these conditions, occupation prison authorities are also denying the entry of blankets and winter clothing, Zabarqa said, highlighting that these harsh conditions are intended to break al-Qeeq’s hunger strike.

Also on hunger strike for the fourth day are fellow administrative detainees Jamal Abu Leil and Raed Mteir, both of whose detention was renewed for the third consecutive time. Abu Leil, 50, and Mteir, 47, are both longtime Fateh leaders in Qalandiya refugee camp, and are demanding their freedom from administrative detention.

As al-Qeeq, Abu Leil and Mteir continued their strikes for freedom, the Israeli occupation Ofer military court issued 40 administrative detention orders against Palestinian prisoners from 8 to 16 February, reported Palestinian lawyer Mahmoud Halabi on Sunday, 19 February.

Administrative detention orders are used to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial. Issued for one to six month periods, the orders are indefinitely renewable and based on so-called “secret evidence,” to which both Palestinian prisoners and their lawyers are denied access.

There are over 520 Palestinians currently imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention among approximately 6,500 total Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. 14 of these orders were newly issued while 26 were renewals of existing administrative detention orders. The Palestinians issued detention orders are:

1. Sadiq Sidqi Khatatba, from Nablus, 4 months, extension
2. Nidal Yacoub Nafie, from Jenin, 3 months, extension
3. Bilal Mohammed Abdel-Aziz, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
4. Musab Fathi Barari, from Ramallah, 6 months, new order
5. Samer Helmi al-Natsheh, from al-Khalil, 3 months, extension
6. Maher Nizar Suweyta, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
7. Nafez Rasmi Shawamreh, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
8. Mohammed Salah Jawarish, from Bethlehem, 4 months, renewal
9. Bashar Abdel-Rahman Jabbara, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
10. Nael Mahmoud Abu Kweik, from Ramallh, 6 months, renewal
11. Munir Yousef Khaddour, from al-Khalil, 4 months, renewal
12. Muntasser Issa Shadid, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
13. Abbas Suleiman Fatayer, from Nablus, 4 months, new order
14. Mohammed Kamil Aqtal, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
15. Mohammed Khaaled Abu Sall, from al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
16. Othman Kamil Nakhleh, from Ramallah, 6 months, new order
17. Said Mohammed Abu Badawi, from Jenin, 2 months, new order
18. Haitham Mohammed Ajaj, from Ramallah, 4 months, extension
19. Motassem Mohammed Abdo, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
20. Mohammed Hussein Abu Aida, from Ramallah, 6 months, extension
21. Tawfiq Omar Abu Arqoub, from Ramallah, 4 months, new order
22. Diaa Abdel-Rahim Abu Daoud, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
23. Qasi Ahmed Issa, from Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
24. Yousef Abdel-Aziz Batran, from al-Khalil, 6 months, extension
25. Khaled Aqel al-Haj, Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
26. Maher Nazmi Jaradat, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
27. Fares Ahmad Zahrat, from Ramallah, 6 months, new order
28. Mohammed Mahmoud Sabaaneh, from Jenin, 4 months, extension
29. Tamer Mustafa Abu Dia, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
30. Ammar Ibrahim Hmour, from Jenin, 4 months, extension
31. Samer Aziz al-Masri, from Ramallah, 3 months, extension
32. Mohammed Abdallah Atwan, from Bethlehem, 6 months, extension
33. Jihad Wadah Qutob, from Nablus, 6 months, extension
34. Omar Nassif Barghouthi, from Ramallah, 3 months, new order
35. Ali Tawfiq Taqi, from Tulkarem, 4 months, extension
36. Sami Fayez Srahin, from al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
37. Hamza Mahmoud al-Batran, from al-Khalil, 3 months, extension
38. Ayman Khalil Ali, from Bethlehem 5 months, extension
39. Naji Hamdi Abu Khalaf, from al-Khalil, 4 months, new order
40. Ramzi Omar Quwwar, from Bethlehem, 4 months, new order