CAIRO: Palestinians prisoners suspended their three-week hunger strike on Monday, as Israeli Prison Authorities agreed to end the use of solitary confinement for prisoners. The agreement was ratified after shortly after the conclusion of the Israeli-Hamas prisoner swap, which included the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, according to Issa Qaraqe of the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Strikers have given prison authorities three days to halt the implementation of solitary confinement. If authorities fail to halt this practice, they will resume their hunger strike. An end to solitary confinement was a key demand of the strike, which began on September 27 in protest of conditions for prisoners inside of Israeli jails. Ahmad Sadaat, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was a central figure of the hunger strike. Last week, observers reported that Sadaat had gone into a coma due to the hunger strike, as he allegedly has not received proper medical attention from prison administration. The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that the Israeli Prison Administration agreed to admit Sadaat to a hospital. Following his recovery in the hospital, Sadaat will be returned to a normal call at the Israeli-controlled Ramle prison. This will bring an end to the three years he spent in isolation, according to his legal representatives. Sadaat himself, regardless of the promises and the official suspension of the strike, has refused to back down and will continue striking until all prisoner demands are met. October 19 marks the 23rd day of his hunger strike. He has lost a total of 10 kilos in body weight. A special United Nations envoy has officially condemned the use of solitary confinement for juveniles and detainees with mental disabilities. The UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, told a UN General Assembly panel that solitary confinement “is a harsh measure which is contrary to rehabilitation, the aim of the penitentiary system.” Since July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has implemented harsh conditions on Palestinian prisoners, aimed at pressuring Hamas authorities to free the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Sadaat was excluded from the prison swap deal, the first step of which was concluded today. The second round of the swap is expected to conclude within two months, liberating another 550 Palestinians from Israeli captivity. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today called on Israel to “stick to promise” and not refrain from releasing the remaining prisoners. Amnesty International took the opportunity of the swap to call on both Israelis and Palestinians to consider the conditions of prisoners in their custody. The organization has repeatedly asked Hamas authorities not monopolize on their captivity of Gilad Shalit as a bargaining chip, as such a move would violate their obligations under international humanitarian law. The deal has also highlighted concerns about the Israeli detention of Palestinian detainees, as imprisonment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories is a violation of Israel's obligations to the Fourth Geneva Convention. “International human rights standards and international humanitarian law guarantee every person deprived of liberty the right to humane and dignified conditions of detention, adequate medical care, and regular family visits,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director. “Israel, the Hamas de facto administration, and the Palestinian Authority must ensure that all detainees receive fair and prompt trials meeting international standards, and that judicial rulings on the release of detainees are implemented.” After the conclusion of the prisoner swap deal, 5,000 Palestinians will remain in Israeli jails. The deal itself has raised a storm of questions on the ethical problem of using prisoners as a tool of exercising political pressure. BM
