Administrative detainee re-launches hunger strike as plans announced to boycott military courts

Dozens of Palestinian prisoners were ordered jailed without charge or trial by Israeli military courts as administrative detainees announced a planned protest action for 2018 involving a boycott of the military courts and one prisoner re-launched his open hunger strike.

Palestinian prisoner Rizk Rajoub, 61, announced his return to open hunger strike on 23 December. He had been ordered to choose between administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – and deportation to Sudan by the Ofer Israeli occupation military court. He had earlier launched a hunger strike for a week in protest, and he suspended the strike after prison authorities claimed to seek a solution. However, his imprisonment without charge or trial has continued, and now he is on his third day of renewed open hunger strike.  Rajoub has spent over 20 years in Israeli prison, including 10 years administrative detention. He was seized mostt recently on 27 November from his home in Dura village near al-Khalil.

Meanwhile, Palestinian prisoner Sabah Faraoun was released from administrative detention after over 18 months of imprisonment without charge or trial late on Thursday night, 21 December.  After Faraoun’s release, there are three Palestinian women remaining in administrative detention: Palestinian parliamentarian and national leader Khalida Jarrar; Khadija Ruba’i; and journalist Bushra al-Tawil. On 24 December, the Israeli military courts reduced al-Tawil’s detention order to four months from six months. Al-Tawil has previously spent over 16 months in Israeli prisons.

There are currently over 450 Palestinians jailed without trial under administrative detention out of over 6,000 total Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. These numbers include 311 children under the age of 18.

Between 1 and 21 December, Israeli occupation authorities issued 40 administrative detention orders ranging from two to six months in length. These orders are indefinitely renewable, and Palestinians can spend years at a time jailed without charge or trial. Among those ordered imprisoned were Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed Attoun, who has been jailed with 11 other PLC members since 12 April, and Thaer Halahleh, former long-term hunger striker repeatedly re-imprisoned under administrative detention.

The orders were issued against the following Palestinians, reported lawyer Mahmoud al-Halabi:

1. Ahmed Mohammed Attoun, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
2. Rabie Hassan Zeid, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
3. Ahmed Kayed Hamed, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
4. Montasser Abbas Hamad, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
5. Izzedine Mohammed Abu Dayyeh, Tulkarem, 4 months, new order
6. Fadi Hasan Safi, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
7. Salem Mohammed Abu Eid, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
8. Rizk Abdullah Rajoub, al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
9. Ahmed Ibrahim Zahran, Jerusalem, 4 months, new order
10. Issam Hussein Diriyeh, Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
11. Mohammed Eyad Albou, al-Khalil, 6 months, new order
12. Mohammed Jihad Ahmed, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
13. Maher Ayoub Dalashi, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
14. Hisham Daoud Rudeida, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
15. Rashid Mohammed Rashid Barghouthi, Ramallah, 4 months, new order
16. Musab Akef Ashtayyeh, Nablus, 4 months, extension
17. Shafiq Ali Rudeida, Bethlehem, 3 months, new order
18. Diaa Yousef Shehadeh, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
19. Nour Shaker Atrash, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
20. Musab Saher Barghouthi, Ramallah, 6 months, extension
21. Jihad Wadah Qutb, Nablus, 3 months, extension
22. Mohammed Ahmed Abu Tama, Jenin, 6 months, extension
23. Mohammed Saleh Mohsen, Jerusalem, 4 months, extension
24. Thaer Aziz Halahleh, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
25. Saad Mohammed al-Asa, Bethlehem, 4 months, new order
26. Ahmed Abdel-Karim Dar Mohammed, Ramallah, 3 months, extension
27. Fahd Abdel-Aziz Zaarour, Jenin, 4 months, extension
28. Daoud Raja Atwan, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
29. Ibrahim Yassin Abu Srour, Bethlehem, 4 months, extension
30. Mustafa Issa Arouj, Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
31. Mohammed Abdel-Ghani al-Souki, Jenin, 6 months, new order
32. Khaled Walid Suleiman, Ramallah, 6 months, new order
33. Ahmed Mustafa Zaid, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
34. Yazan Walid Ayyash, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
35. Amer Nadeem Malukh, Jerusalem, 4 months, extension
36. Montasser Mustafa Ahmed, Nablus, 4 months, extension
37. Mohammed Munther Awri, Ramallah, 4 months, extension
38. Yousef Salameh Abu Ras, al-Khalil, 4 months, extension
39. Bahaa Hassan Abu Tabikh, Jenin, 4 months, extension
40. Mustafa Omar Bader, Tulkarem, 6 months, extension