Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 02 August 2016: Palestine increased pressure on Israel to release Bilal Kayed

At least 100 political prisoners joined the hunger strike in support of Bilal Kayed, who started his hunger strike almost 50 days ago because of his detention by the state of Israel. “Bilal Kayed has stated that he would rather die of starvation than give up his rights and those of his fellow prisoners,” Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer said in a statement on Monday. Kayed was detained by the British mandate regulations, which allow detention for years without pausing accusations or referring to the court. Administrative detention is permitted under international law under narrowly defined states of emergency. But according to the Palestinian rights group Addameer, Israel use the administrative detention in a way, which violates the international law.

The number of administrative Palestinian detainees increase last two years and reached the number around 700. The struggle against administrative arrests is usual in the last 5 years. According to the detainees, the situation in jails deteriorated.

Among the joined prisoners is PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Saadat, who is serving a 30-year sentence. The majority of prisoners are also the members of PFLP.

Hana Herbst, from the Israel Prison Service, denied the massive hunger strikes. Hana Herbst told :”The few hunger strike attempts that have taken place were treated by deprivation of privileges, as IPS handles any other prisoners' disciplinary violation. Routine operations are maintained but as far as I know, no violent raids occurred."

*PFLP - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - is a secular Palestinian Marxist-Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the largest being Fatah. PFLP is described as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Australia, and the European Union.