Israel-held Palestinian journalist ends 94-day hunger strike

DURA, Palestinian Territories — A Palestinian journalist held by Israel without trial, Mohammed Al Qiq, agreed Friday to end his 94-day hunger strike under a deal for his release in May, an NGO announced.

"An agreement has been reached under which his administrative detention will end on May 21 and will not be renewed," the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said, referring to Qiq's imprisonment without trial.

"He is ending his hunger strike today," said the NGO which has been defending his case.

The Israeli army, in a statement, was less categorical on his release.

"He will continue to remain in custody until May 21, 2016. On that date, the situation will be examined to determine whether there is new information or security circumstances which require extending detention," it said.

But for Qiq's family and supporters it was a victory.

"The determination of the detained journalist Mohammed Al Qiq has won," his wife Fayha Shalash told reporters at the family home in the southern West Bank village of Dura.

"We will in the coming hours be next to him to actually end this hunger strike," she said, adding that his first sustenance would be minerals administered intravenously.

"We want to deeply thank all those who stood with us during the 94 days" of the hunger strike, she added.

"On May 21, he will be freed and meanwhile he will be treated because his health condition is very dangerous."

She said her husband would remain in the Afula Hospital of northern Israel until his release.

Mainly only tap water 

The 33-year-old reporter for Saudi television channel Al Majd started his fast on November 25 in protest at the "torture and ill treatment that he was subjected to during interrogation", according to Addameer, a Palestinian rights organisation.

Qiq has occasionally taken minerals and vitamins but mainly ingests only tap water, say doctors who have visited him in hospital in Afula.

He had previously conditioned ending his fast on being transferred to a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.

Israel's supreme court turned down the demand and made a counter-proposal to move him to Palestinian-run Makassed Hospital in Israeli-Occupied East Jerusalem.

Qiq turned down the court proposal saying Makassed was located in an area under Israeli control and Israeli occupation forces could enter at will to rearrest him.

The United Nations has expressed concern about his fate and the International Committee of the Red Cross described his condition as critical.

Qiq was arrested on November 21 in Ramallah.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service says he was detained for "terror activity" on behalf of the Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, a charge he denies.

He was jailed for a month in 2003 and then for 13 months in 2004 for Hamas-related activities. 

In 2008, Qiq was sentenced to 16 months on charges linked to his activities on the student council at the West Bank's Birzeit University.

Israel's controversial administrative detention law allows the state to hold suspects without trial for periods of six months, renewable indefinitely.

The supreme court on February 4 officially suspended the internment order against Qiq but ordered him confined to hospital.

Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allan ended a two-month hunger strike in August last year and was freed in November.

And in July, Khader Adnan was released after a 56-day hunger strike against his administrative detention, a procedure which dates back to Palestine under British mandate.