Palestinian prisoners hunger strike against indefinite incarceration in Israeli prisons, 2012

On 28 February 2012, two Palestinian prisoners began a hunger strike. Bilala Diab and Thaer Halahleh, both accused by Israel’s government of working with Islamic Jihad (a group responsible for firing rockets into Israel from Gaza), were in Israeli prisons. Israel was holding Diab and Halahleh under administrative detention, meaning that they were imprisoned without being charged. The maximum period for administrative detainment was six months, but a military judge could renew such detainment indefinitely.

Diab and Halahleh had started this hunger strike in protest of their incarceration without formal charges. Their actions gathered the attention not only of other imprisoned Palestinian soldiers, but also of Palestinian families and political officials.

This hunger strike was not the first one organized by Palestinian prisoners. Many prisoners were discontent due to the poor conditions and restriction of rights they faced in prison. When Hamas militants took Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, on 25 June 2006, the Israeli government had restricted these rights and conditions of the Palestinian prisoners. Once Shalit was released on 18 October 2011, though, prisons neither improved conditions nor restored rights.  Two other Palestinian prisoners, Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi, had gone on hunger strikes earlier in December of 2011 and the Israeli prisons released them after they had been striking for 66 and 44 days, respectively. These two strikes inspired the 2012 hunger strike begun by Diab and Halahleh.

Both Diab and Halahleh continued their hunger strike into April of 2012. Throughout the two months of their protest, a few other Palestinian prisoners joined in their hunger strike. By mid-April of 2012, Diab and Halahleh were close to death. Six other protestors were in critical condition.

Diab and Halahleh had gone 76 days without food when, on 17 April 2012, two thousand Palestinian prisoners joined in their hunger strike. These protestors supported Diab and Halahleh in the campaign against the conditions under which they were imprisoned.

Also on 17 April 2012, Palestinian citizens gathered in Gaza City to protest in solidarity with those on the hunger strike. This day, 17 April, was Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, a day initially established to remind the public of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Citizens in Gaza and the West Bank held rallies and protests to support the protests and hunger strikes. 

Their mass hunger strike spread throughout Gaza and inspired Palestinian families, many of them having been affected by imprisonment. This movement led to further protests outside of the hunger strike. On 1 May 2012, thirty Palestinian citizens gathered at the Beituniya checkpoint outside of Ofer Prison. They chanted in protest of the imprisonment conditions for about fifteen minutes.  This protest did not last long. Police attacked the protestors, using pepper spray and beating up the citizens. Some citizens fought back, throwing rocks at Israeli Defense Force soldiers to stop them from harming other protestors. These struggles left several protestors injured.

The campaigners also put up solidarity tents for display in villages across the West Bank. These tents featured photographs and names of Palestinian prisoners. Many Israeli peace activists and international aid workers took part in a pilgrimage to the tents.

These protests attracted the attention of many political and international elites. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reached out to Israel’s government and requested that they enter negotiations to end the hunger strike. President Abbas warned that a huge outbreak of anger would likely occur if a prisoner died while fasting as part of the campaign. The secretary-general of the United Nation, Ban Ki-moon, also became involved, calling on Israel to either put the detainees on trial or release them.

On 3 May 2012, 300 women marched to Al Manara Square in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank, chanting, “Yes for hunger strike, no to submission” and “Down with the olive branch, long live the rifle.” This march remained nonviolent. Later that afternoon, however, hundreds of protestors carried Palestinian flags and gathered outside of Ramle Prison, where many of the hunger strikers were held. There, a fight broke out between the police and demonstrators. Police officers arrested several protestors.

Also on 3 May 2012, Diab and Halahleh went, in wheelchairs, before Israel’s Supreme Court to plead for release. Diab fainted during the hearing, due to the length of his hunger strike. The Court did not provide a ruling.

On 14 May 2012, the Palestinian prisoners ended their month-long mass hunger strike. According to the Israeli government, Egypt and Jordan had helped to mediate an agreement. Such external involvement was necessary because Israel did not have direct contact with Hamas, the more radical of the major Palestinian factions and had suspended direct negations with Fatah for 18 months. In the agreement, the Israeli government agreed to end solitary confinement for prisoners and allow family visits to resume for about 400 prisoners from Gaza. Israel had previously halted these visits because Gaza was under the control of Hamas. It is unknown whether the protestors that started the hunger strike were released or not; all that is known is that prisoners were taken out of solitary confinement.

Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, noted that Israel did not commit to end incarceration without formal charges or a trial. Administrative detention, however, would only be renewed if a judge saw new evidence or intelligence. Israel also agreed to improve prison conditions, such as access to televisions and telephone calls. In return, the Palestinian prisoners’ leaders, such as Qadura Fares, president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, agreed to halt “terrorist activity” inside Israeli prisons. Israel defined terrorist activity as recruitment, practical support, funding, and the co-ordination of operations.

Once the agreement was announced, Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to celebrate the agreement. In downtown Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians held a candlelight victory march.