BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Prison authorities transferred detainee Samer Issawi from Ramle prison to a hospital in Israel after 210 days on hunger strike, an Israeli official said late Wednesday. Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman for the Israel Prison Service, told Ma'an that Issawi was taken to Kaplan medical center in Rahavot, but she said his condition was stable and the move was unrelated to any specific decline. "He's been on hunger strike for a long time, and medical staff at the IPS decided to move him," Weissman said. "It's better that he be in a hospital." Palestinian Authority prisoners minister Issa Qaraqe confirmed that Issawi had been hospitalized. "The Israeli side has begun dialogue today to find a solution to this issue, but so far they have not presented an acceptable offer," Qaraqe told reporters in Ramallah, adding that Issawi and Ayman Sharawna had refused an offer to be freed and deported. Aside from a brief suspension
Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible