Abu Sir: Gaza child launches hunger strike for imprisoned father; prison services attempt to bargain with prisoners’ healthcare

 

Former prisoner Samer Abu Sir reported that Israeli prison administration forces attempted to bargain with imprisoned patient Akram Rakhawi in Ramle hospital, saying they would provide him with inhalers and oxygen if he broke his hunger strike. Rakhawi refused, saying that despite his heart disease, shortness of breath, and diabetes, he woould not break his strike.

He also reported that Jumana Abu Jazar, 11, has launched a hunger strike in solidarity with her imprisoned father, the Fateh representative in the strike’s leadership. Jumana has spoken to Palestinian and Arab media in the past about her situation – her mother is dead, and she lives with her grandfather in Rafah. Her father is serving a 19-year sentence in occupation prisons, and she is one of the victims of the Israeli policy of denying family visits to prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Abu Sir noted that the leadership of the prisoners rejected a proposal by the Israeli prison officials for Gaza families to see their imprisoned relatives via video conferencing, demanding ordinary visits like all other prisoners.

Abu Sir also called to expand the activities on April 17 for the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners, noting that of course it is not enough to have one day, the 17th of April as a day of the Palestinian prisoner for solidarity and to stand alongside the captives behind the bars of the occupation. He said that this day of action is a strong support for international solidarity mobilization and engagement with the issue of prisoners, and a tool to put pressure on international institutions, in particular the United Nations.