JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian detainee held without charge or trial by Israel will suspend his nearly six-month hunger strike after receiving a “written agreement” that he will be released in October, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
Lawyers and physicians have warned that the Khalil Awawdeh, 40, was at risk of dying and already suffering neurological damage from the prolonged hunger strike.
He was protesting being held without charge or trial in what’s known as administrative detention. Israel says the practice is needed to jail dangerous militants, while critics say it denies detainees due process.
The Commission of Detainee Affairs, part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said he had reached an agreement that would see Awawdeh released on Oct. 2, “after fighting an epic battle for which he sacrificed his flesh and life.”
It said he will remain in an Israeli hospital until he has fully recovered.
Israel accuses Awawdeh of being a member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, an allegation he denies. The group has demanded his release as part of the cease-fire that ended three days of heavy fighting in Gaza earlier this month, without identifying him as a member.
