- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinian family fear jailed son on hunger strike risks dying.
- Date: 19th April 2012
- Summary: UM HISHAM TALKING TO UNIDENTIFIED MAN CLOSE OF DIAB'S POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UM HISHAM, MOTHER OF PRISONER BILAL DIAB, SAYING: "I call upon human rights organisations, the Red Cross and the Palestinian Prisoners Club to help us visit our son to save his life. My son is in the hospital for 20 days now, at (the Israeli City of) Ramle hospital and I am so worried abou
- Embargoed: 4th May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank, West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Crime,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA4D0499G9UNMMMJETN9J8IQ3XA
- Story Text: The family of a Palestinian held without trial in Israel, who has been refusing food for 51 days, have voiced fears about his deteriorating health.
Twenty-seven-year-old Bilal Diab went on a hunger strike in February in protest over being held in an Israeli jail without charge, his lawyer and a Palestinian prisoners' organisation said, becoming the third Palestinian detainee to go on a hunger strike in quick succession.
Speaking from his home village near the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin, Diab's mother, Um Hisham, said she feared for her son's life and urged human rights organisations to provide assistance.
"I call upon human rights organisations, the Red Cross and the Palestinian Prisoners Club to help us visit our son to save his life. My son is in the hospital for 20 days now, at (the Israeli City of) Ramle hospital and I am so worried about his health. I really want to visit him to check his health condition," Um Hisham, who was unable to secure a family visit to the Israeli hospital, told Reuters.
Diab was detained by the Israeli army from his home in August 2011 and has complained of repeated mistreatment by prison authorities.
His mother, who joined a protest tent erected for Diab in the small northern village, said she was praying for the release of her son and thousands of other Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israeli jails.
"I hope with God's will he will be released, him and all other prisoners, those on hunger strike and those not on the hunger strike. I hope he will be released soon. My son has been in the Ramle hospital for 20 days. I hope he will be released, with God's help," she said.
Her appeal comes as up to 1,200 Palestinians in Israeli jails launched an open-ended hunger strike on Tuesday (April 17) which coincided with "Prisoner's Day", raising the stakes in a protest about jail conditions and justice that has put the Jewish state under heightened scrutiny.
The hunger strikers have a long list of complaints, including the Israeli use of solitary confinement, the difficulty many having in securing family visits and the strip searches that are imposed on visitors. It also fits into their much broader battle to secure an independent homeland.
Palestinians also denounce the so-called administrative detention, whereby Israel can imprison suspects indefinitely, without ever informing them of the charges they face or presenting their lawyers with any evidence.
Diab, a member of of the militant group Islamic Jihad which is committed to Israel's destruction, is held by the Jewish state under the controversial practice which has drawn criticism from human rights groups and the European Union.
Israel says it uses detention without trial to protect intelligence sources in any legal proceedings against a Palestinian suspect.
The measure has drawn criticism from human rights groups and the European Union.
Israel has already struck deals with two Palestinian detainees this year after they staged prolonged hunger strikes and several other inmates have been refusing to take food in the ad-hoc campaign that has gathered unexpected momentum. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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