Palestinian hunger striker to appeal to Israel’s high court

Headline Legal News

The lawyer for a Palestinian prisoner said Tuesday that her client will appeal his case to Israel’s Supreme Court as he continues what his family says is a 165-day hunger strike against his detention.

Also Tuesday, an Israeli military court extended the sentence for a second Palestinian prisoner by six days.

The release of both men — hunger striker Khalil Awawdeh and Bassam al-Saadi, a West Bank Islamic Jihad leader — was among the demands of the militant group for a cease-fire to last week’s intense fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Khalil Awawdeh is protesting being held without charge or trial under what Israel refers to as administrative detention. Ahlam Haddad, Awawdeh’s lawyer, said her client’s health is deteriorating and that they asked that he be released. An Israeli military court on Monday rejected an appeal.

“Justice was not done,” Haddad said. “We turn to... the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, in order maybe to get the relief requested, which is his release from administrative detention.”

Awawdeh, a 40-year-old father of four, is one of several Palestinian prisoners who have gone on prolonged hunger strikes over the years to protest administrative detention. Israel says the policy helps keep dangerous militants off the streets and allows the government to hold suspects without divulging sensitive intelligence. Critics say the policy denies prisoners due process.

Israel says Awawdeh is a militant, an allegation he has denied through his lawyer.

The Islamic Jihad militant group demanded his release as part of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ending three days of heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip earlier this month but did not identify him as its member. Israel arrested al-Saadi in the days leading up to the Gaza flare-up.

Haddad said her client has not eaten during the strike, except for a 10-day period in which he received vitamin injections, according to his family. Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service has not commented on his case.

Israel is currently holding some 4,400 Palestinian prisoners, including militants who have carried out deadly attacks, as well as people arrested at protests or for throwing stones. Around 670 Palestinians are currently being held in administrative detention, a number that jumped in March as Israel began near-nightly arrest raids in the occupied West Bank following a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis.

Related listings

  • Supreme Court Notebook: Roberts pays tribute to Breyer

    Supreme Court Notebook: Roberts pays tribute to Breyer

    Headline Legal News 04/29/2022

    The fertile mind of Justice Stephen Breyer has conjured a stream of hypothetical questions through the years that have, in the words of a colleague, “befuddled” lawyers and justices alike.Breyer, 83, seemed a bit subdued as he sat through...

  • Temple prof seeks reinstatement of damage claims against FBI

    Temple prof seeks reinstatement of damage claims against FBI

    Headline Legal News 02/13/2022

    A Temple University physics professor who was charged with sharing scientific technology with China only for the case to collapse before trial and be dismissed by the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate his clams f...

  • Judges send Tyson workers’ virus lawsuit back to state court

    Judges send Tyson workers’ virus lawsuit back to state court

    Headline Legal News 01/03/2022

    A federal appeals court has ruled that Tyson Foods can’t claim it was operating under the direction of the federal government when it tried to keep its processing plants open as the coronavirus spread rapidly within them during the early days o...

East Greenwich, RI Family Law Office

The Law Office of Erica S. Janton offers a wide range of legal services in all areas of family law, encompassing divorce, paternity, adoption, child support, child custody and placement, post judgment modifications, mediation and other related issues.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters. For the last decade, Erica S. Janton has devoted her career to the family law, first as a mediator and then in her legal career as a family law attorney and mediator. Attorney Janton represents a large variety of clients and has earned a well-regarded reputation for resolving complex custody and high asset, high conflict divorce cases. When providing clients with representation as an attorney, she is a compassionate and staunch advocate who ensures that her clients are well informed of their options and the related process, and prepared for every possible scenario a client may encounter.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters and uses her experience within the family court arena to individually tailor strategies with each of her clients and provide realistic solution focused results.

Business News

Surry County Criminal Defense Lawyers. At DiRusso & DiRusso, we have the legal knowledge and experience to protect you. >> read
Canton, MI Criminal Law Attorney Rita White is a metro Detroit area attorney with a focus on criminal defense. >> read