ANC calls for release of Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike

The African National Congress (ANC) has called on the Israeli government to release a suspected Palestinian terrorist who has been on prolonged hunger strike in protest over his detention without trial.

Maher al-Akhras, 49, who is allegedly a member of a terrorist organisation, hasn’t eaten for 87 days. He is in a critical condition in a bed in Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv.

Israeli authorities identified him as a prominent activist in the Palestinian extremist group Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organisation outlawed by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Israel, and others. He has denied membership of this group.

He was arrested in late July, and has been held in administrative detention, which allows terror suspects to be held indefinitely without trial.

The ANC in the Eastern Cape has compared his detention to that of political prisoners detained without trial during apartheid. The party’s international relations committee in the Eastern Cape issued a statement on 19 October urging the Israeli government to release Al-Akhras immediately “on humanitarian grounds”.

“Administrative detention is what the apartheid government referred to as ‘detention without trial’ and like the apartheid practise, it means to intimidate and victimise activists,” the committee said.

The statement, signed by Lindiwe Zulu, the chairperson of the international relations sub-committee and minister of social development, contained several grammatical and spelling errors and even spelt Al-Akhras’ name wrong.

Al-Akhras, a West Bank Palestinian, is being held subject to Israeli military law under administrative detention, which is often used against Palestinian terror suspects.

Israel has indicated that he will probably be freed by the end of November when his administrative detention ends.

According to reports, Al-Akhras drinks water and has refused all medical treatment.

It’s understood his health is deteriorating rapidly. Al-Akhras’ possible death could ignite further tension between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Naji Abbas, from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, told the SA Jewish Report his condition was severe.

“Maher is at great risk of death. He refuses any treatment or medical tests, and monitoring from the medical team in Kaplan hospital in Israel. He is generally lucid, he is also periodically confused, very dizzy, cannot move his legs, stand, or change position in bed. His vision and hearing are rapidly deteriorating, and he complains of severe chest pains and may die any day. We call for his immediate release,” said Abbas who specialises in prisoners’ health rights.

Abbas said Israel was holding more than 300 Palestinians in administrative detention.

According to the Shin Bet domestic security service, which is responsible for counter-terrorism in the West Bank, Al-Akhras is involved in Islamic Jihad which “seeks to destroy Israel”.

“Intelligence was received that Al-Akhras was a prominent activist in Islamic Jihad, involved in activities that endangered public safety,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.

Israeli military prosecutors have decided not to renew his administrative detention, which is due to expire on 26 November. The High Court of Justice declined to release Al-Akhras before the release deadline. Instead, it offered a compromise: Al-Akhras could end his hunger strike now, serve out the rest of his sentence, and his administrative detention wouldn’t be renewed afterwards unless new information came to light.

Al-Akhras refused, vowing to continue striking unless he was granted immediate and unconditional release.

According to the Times of Israel, Al-Akhras lives in Silat al-Daher outside Jenin. He has been arrested five times for alleged involvement in Islamic Jihad, according to the Shin Bet. He is the father of six children, and owns one of the largest dairies in the West Bank.

It was reported in Haaretz that in 2005 and 2019, he pled guilty to membership of a banned organisation. The newspaper said that court filings stated that he had attended Islamic Jihad marches and posted extremist material on Facebook.

His wife received a permit from Israeli authorities to visit him during the day, before returning to the West Bank each night.

On 6 September, the courts ruled that Al-Akhras was too weak to remain in Ofer Prison, where he had been detained. He was subsequently transferred to the Kaplan Medical Center, where he has remained ever since, according to his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad.

Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades, which have committed numerous attacks against Israeli civilians, threatened Israel in the event that Al-Akhras died from his hunger strike.

Islamic Jihad has carried out numerous terror attacks against Israelis, including suicide bombings, and seeks Israel’s destruction by military force. Having close ties to both Hezbollah and Iran, Islamic Jihad lauds martyrdom and rejects any truce or compromise with the “enemy”.

At the time of going to press, the department of international relations and cooperation had not responded to questions about whether it supported the ANC’s call.