The Israeli Prison Service is allegedly preventing a Palestinian hunger striking prisoner from receiving treatment for the prisoner's chronic brain disease, a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners' Society said in a statement on Sunday. A PPS lawyer told Ma'an that Bilal Dauod, 26, who started an open hunger strike on Aug. 24, was not being allowed proper medical treatment for his chronic brain disease. Dauod is on hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention, which began when he was detained in February. Administrative detention is a controversial Israeli policy in which prisoners can be held without charge or trial for renewable six-month periods, indefinitely. Dauod previously served five years in Israeli prison. PPS added in the statement that there are currently six other Palestinian prisoners on open hunger strikes. The prisoners were identified as Nidal abu Aker, Shadi Maali, and Ghassan Zawahra, all from Bethlehem, Bader Ruzza from Nablus, Muneer Abu Sharar from Hebron, and Sulaiman Tawfek Iskafi, who started his hunger strike earlier this month. There are currently 400 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails under administrative detention, according to documentation by prisoners' rights group Addameer. Through its documentation Addameer has found that "prisoners are often prescribed painkillers without any thorough medical follow-up," and that "transfers to hospitals for needed treatment may take place only after weeks or months." According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the majority of prisoners who go on hunger strike are Palestinians in administrative detention. Palestinian detainees in the Nafha and Ramon jails last month declared a "campaign of disobedience" in response to sanctions imposed on hunger strikers, as well as other restrictions. On Aug. 20 Israel agreed to suspend the administrative detention of Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Allan following his 66-day hunger strike that brought him close to death.
