Adnan and Shalabi express their support for hunger strikers

JENIN (Ma’an) — Former prisoners Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi, who were released by Israel after lengthy hunger strikes, on Wednesday expressed pride and support for striking detainees in Israeli jails.

Adnan, whose sentence was reduced after he spent 66 days on hunger strike, told Ma’an that hunger strikers’ determination would bring them victory.

Bilal Diab, 27, from Jenin, and Thaer Halahla, 33, from Hebron have refused food for 64 days. Like Adnan and Shalabi, they were sentenced to administrative detention without a trial and they have not been charged with any crime.

“The confrontation will be resolved to their benefit soon, because they have reached the point of no return and are heading towards victory which they have risen up for against the Israeli occupation’s oppressive and racist laws,” Adnan said.

Adnan urged their parents not to worry about them and instead to be proud of their heroic sons.

“If they are released, that’s a big blessing and if they are martyred then this will be a great victory,” he said.

Adnan urged all Palestinian prisoners in Israel to join the hunger strike. According to prisoners rights groups, around 2,000 detainees have so far joined the strike.

Meanwhile, Hana Shalabi, who refused for 43 days before being deported to Gaza, urged Arab and Islamic nations to support the hunger strikers.

She told Ma’an she was eagerly awaiting their “moment of victory.”