Palestinian Prisoner Hits 100 Days of Hunger Strike in Israel

The 49-year-old Palestinian Maher Al Akhras reached 100 days on a hunger strike in protest against Israeli administrative detentions, which have hundreds of Palestinians arrested without charge, trial, or release date.

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At the end of July, Maher Al Akhras, a father of six, was working as a farmer in a village near Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Today, his name is pronounced by people like Josep Borrell, European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, or Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, both of whom are asking the Israeli state for a solution to save the life of this Palestinian who has been in poor health for weeks.

Maher's face occupies huge murals and hundreds of posters in Gaza and the West Bank, while thousands of Palestinians shout his name in protests against the Israeli system of administrative detention that has imprisoned him for 4 months.

"The message that Al Akhras sends to the world is that crimes are being committed that are contrary to international law and conventions," explained Tareq Selmi, spokesman for the Popular Committee to support this prisoner.

According to August figures from the Israeli NGO B'Tselem, over 350 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails because of an arbitrary detention system.

The Israeli authorities have offered not to extend his detention, which expires on November 26, in exchange for ending his hunger strike. However, Al Akhras maintains his protest and demands his immediate release.

After a visit to the Israeli hospital where the Palestinian farmer is interned, his wife, Taghrid Al Akhras, described Maher's condition as "critical" and explained that he has severe pain in his chest and head, as well as difficulties to hear, see, and speak.