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Palestinian prisoner’s health worsens after 210 days of refusing food


Following in the footsteps of many Palestinian political prisoners who undertook lengthy hunger strikes, Alaa Hammad has been refusing meals for more than 210 days.

Muntaha Qasem, Hammad’s wife, has not spoken with her husband directly since the early stages of his fast. “I’ve only been able to phone him once since he began his hunger strike,” she told The Electronic Intifada by telephone from Amman, Jordan. “And even then it was less than five minutes.”

Hammad, a 35-year-old who began his hunger strike on 2 May, holds an Israeli-issued identity card for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, as well as Jordanian citizenship. Having been denied all family visits from relatives in Jordan who do not have Jerusalem residency or a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority, he and four other Palestinian political prisoners with Jordanian nationality have demanded to either be released or transferred to prison in Jordan.

He is the final remaining hunger striker from that group. more

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