Israel 'to free' Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan

Palestinian hunger striker Mohammad Allan is due to be freed on Wednesday, after a year in administrative detention without trial or any charges being brought against him.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

03 November, 2015

Allan's hunger strike sparked solidarity rallies around the world [Getty]

Israel is expected to release Palestinian prisoner Mohammad Allan on Wednesday, who survived a two month hunger strike that almost killed him.

The 31-year old lawyer has been held for a year without trial by the occupation authorities and has not been charged with any crime.

Israel agreed to release Allan in August after he went on a hunger strike that lasted 65 days and almost killed him

Allan was arrested last November and held under the measure known as administrative detention, which allows Israel to imprison Palestinians without trial for six-month periods renewable indefinitely.

"After examining the case of Mohammad Allan, it has been agreed that so long as no new intelligence about him is received, his administrative detention will not be renewed," a statement released by Israel in late September said.

Israel agreed to release Allan in August after he went on a hunger strike that lasted 65 days and almost killed him.

His hunger strike was extensively covered by local and international media.

It also contributed to rising tension in the occupied territories over the summer, and a number of rallies were held in the territories and internationally in solidarity with him.

Israeli authorities attempted to get legal permission to force feed Allan, fearing his death could spark a new wave of unrest in the Occupied Territories.

Allan went on hunger strike in again in September, when he was detained again after his health improved and he was released from hospital.

He called his second hunger strike off two days later, after what a lawyer for the Palestinian Prisoners Club described as "an explanation about his judicial situation".

When he was arrested last November, the Israeli authorities alleged he "was in contact with an Islamic Jihad terrorist" with the aim of carrying out large-scale attacks.

He was previously imprisoned from 2006 to 2009 for allegedly seeking to recruit suicide bombers and aiding wanted Palestinians, Israeli security agencies said.

Other Palestinian hunger strikers

In September, the occupation authorities also agreed to release five other Palestinian prisoners, after they went on hunger strike for 42 days, the Electronic Intifada reported.

The men were held under administrative detention and no formal charges were brought against them.

Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Authority committee on prisoners' affairs, told Quds news site the detention orders on Nidal Abu Aker and Ghassan Zawahra would not be extended.

The detention of the three other prisoners, Munir Abu Sharar, Badr al-Ruzza and Shadi Maali, would not be extended beyond three to four months, he said.