Hunger Striker Samer Issawi Invisible to Israeli Society
Shlomi Eldar wonders about the political impact of Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi's hunger strike, going on for more than 200 days.
Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi from the village of Issawiya has been on hunger strike for more than 200 days now.
“Two hundred days? How is he still alive?” I asked Khader Adnan. If anyone could give me a reliable answer to this question, it's Adnan. After all, he started the wave of hunger strikes in Israeli prisons about a year ago, and since his release he has emerged as one of the most prominent activists on behalf of Palestinian prisoners.
“It’s possible if he receives a glucose additive,” Adnan explains, “but Issawi hasn’t been taking glucose for the past 21 days, and his situation is deteriorating. He’s been hospitalized in the ICU and his life is at risk. I refused to take those pills and was on a total hunger strike until I was released.”
Adnan kept his hunger strike for 66 days. He was transferred to the ICU of Ziv Hospital in Safed in critical condition. Once his health improved, he was released to his home.
