Palestinians rally to support detainees in Israeli jails

AL-BIREH CITY, Palestine (AA) – Scores of Palestinians staged a protest in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh to show support to detainees in Israeli jails.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags and pictures of detainees during the rally held outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the city.

“The rally aims to show support to the struggle of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, especially patients and hunger strikers,” Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society said.

Four Palestinians held by Israel are currently on hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention under Israel’s policy of administrative detention.

Among the striking detainees is Khalil Awawdeh, who has been on hunger strike for 166 days.

As part of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that brought a recent Israeli offensive on Gaza to a halt last week, Cairo said it will seek to ensure the release of Awawdeh and Islamic Jihad detainee Bassam Al-Saadi.

Israeli authorities transferred Awawdeh to hospital on Thursday as his health deteriorated.

On Monday, an Israeli court rejected a petition to release Awawdeh from detention.

“This verdict is a death penalty for Awawdeh,” Fares said. “He is in critical health condition and might lose his life at any moment.”

For years, Palestinians jailed by Israel have used these protests to demand better living conditions and an end to indefinite detentions.

The policy of administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to detain anyone for six months without charge or trial, which can be extended indefinitely.

The policy is widely condemned by human rights groups as a violation of fundamental rights and a contravention of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law,