A Palestinian man on a hunger strike in protest against detention without charge agreed to end his fast after a deal was struck for his release due to fears of unrest if he died.
Hisham Abu Hawash, 40, a construction worker from Dura in the West Bank, had previously served time in an Israeli jail after pleading guilty to terrorism offences related to membership of Islamic Jihad. He was rearrested and has been held without charge or trial for over a year. He began refusing food in August.
His lawyer said on Tuesday night that Abu Hawash had agreed to end the 141 day strike that was the longest by a Palestinian prisoner since 2013 after a deal was reached between Israeli and Palestinian Authority PA officials to release him next month.
A medical team from the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the prisoner last week and said he was in critical condition, warning of potentially irreversible health consequences and possible tragic loss of life. The deal comes amid increasing support for Abu Hawash in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the form of street demonstrations, as well as a widespread campaign for his release on social media, where pictures of the gaunt prisoner lying in a hospital bed in Beer Yaakov have been widely circulated. Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group in Gaza, had threatened revenge if he died in custody, and Hamas called the issue a red line. The married father of five, who denies being a member of Islamic Jihad, is being held under Israel's practice of administrative detention, which allows suspects to be arrested for six months without charge or access to evidence against them.
Israel says the measure is necessary to foil terrorist attacks and not reveal sensitive intelligence sources, which is also practised by the PA. The rights groups allege that it is used excessively and routinely by Israeli authorities and denies individuals the right to due process.
Abu Hawash s release date of February 26 will mark the end of his current six month detention period, a compromise struck with PA officials that allowed Israel to claim that it had decided not to renew his detention rather than shorten it. The PA agreed to not return to terrorism after accepting the terms of the deal, Abu Hawash broke his fast on Tuesday night with a few sips of tea. He had previously refused all medical intervention and stopped eating small amounts of sugar and salt six weeks ago. He was transferred to an Israeli civilian hospital on 26 December and will remain there until his release.
The news was met by street celebrations across the Palestinian territories on Tuesday night, while the Prisoners Club, representing former and current Palestinian prisoners, hailed the strike as a victory. It said that Abu Hawash had previously spent eight years in Israeli prisons, more than half of it in administrative detention.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are subject to Israeli military courts, while Jewish settlers in the territory answer to the civilian justice system.
According to the Palestinian rights group Addameer, 500 Palestinians are currently being held under the measure.