"Israel" Offers to Deport Issawi, He Rejects

Local Editor

"Israel" on Friday offered long-term Palestinian hunger striker Samer Issawi to exile him to a UN member country, "Israeli" spokesman said.

Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for the "Israeli" Prime Minister's Office, said that an offer was presented to exile Issawi for health reasons.
He added that "the EU and UN who demanded his release declined to find a country that will accept him."

However, the Palestinian minister of detainees confirmed that Issawi, who has been on hunger strike for over 265 days, rejected the offer and insists on returning to his hometown, al-Quds.
Issawi was released as part of a 2011 deal. However, "Israel" later rearrested him.
The 33-year old has been refusing food since July 2012, making his one of the longest hunger strikes in the world.

Issawi is one of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who have gone on hunger strikes in the past year to denounce "Israel's" policy of administrative detention, or extrajudicial imprisonment of a person for an indefinite period of time, and poor life conditions in prisons.

He has lost 45 kilograms and his condition is reported to have deteriorated significantly since a court hearing on his case on February 21, which ruled that he would be released on March 6. Issawi remains in police custody, and his legs are shackled to his hospital bed.

Last week, "Israeli" forces re-arrested a well-known Palestinian former hunger striker early Wednesday in the West Bank.
Soldiers raided the home of Thaer Halahleh in Ramallah at dawn, ransacking his home for two hours before arresting him, according to prisoner's rights NGO Addameer.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org