Knesset delays force-feeding vote as hunger strike continues

The Israeli Knesset has delayed its second vote on a bill that would allow prison authorities to force-feed Palestinian detainees who have been on a hunger strike for more than six weeks, Israeli media reported on Monday.

According to Israel Radio, the delay was the result of pressure by the centrist Yesh Atid party and its leader, Yair Lapid, who also serves as finance minister, to postpone voting on the controversial bill for one week.

Earlier this month, the Israel Medical Association (IMA) reaffirmed its refusal to participate in the practice of force-feeding hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners, with IMA Chairman Leonid Edelman asserting prisoners' right to go on hunger strike.

The bill, which was passed in its first Knesset reading, must be approved by parliament twice before becoming law.

Scores of Palestinian administrative detainees have remained on hunger strike to protest their ongoing detention without charge by Israeli authorities. They have been joined by hundreds of other Palestinian prisoners in a show of solidarity.

Under Israel's administrative detention law, Israeli military commanders can detain Palestinian prisoners indefinitely without trial or charge. Administrative detention orders can range from one to six months in length and can be extended by Israeli military courts by up to five years.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, an NGO, some 5270 Palestinians – including 191 in administrative detention – continue to languish in Israeli jails.

Force-feeding Palestinian prisoners 'illegal'

As the Israeli government pressed forward with force-feeding legislation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday warned Israeli doctors against partaking in any attempt to force-feed the detainees, describing the practice as illegal.

"Any doctor who feeds prisoners by force violates the ethics of the profession," Healthcare In Detention Coordinator at ICRC Raed Abu Rabi told Israel Radio, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

"Any doctor in the world who violates the law by force-feeding the hunger-striking prisoners can be prosecuted," Abu Rabi said, hailing a decision by the Israel Medical Association to refuse to participate in any such attempt.

Also on Monday, Israeli authorities rearrested Samer Issawi, who was released last year following a record nine-month hunger strike. He ended the strike in April 2013 striking a deal with Israeli authorities who said they would release him earlier than expected if he ended his hunger protest.   

"Samer was arrested from home [in East Jerusalem] by a joint Israeli force without a reason," his father Tarek Issawi told Anadolu Agency.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society, an NGO, said in a statement that Israeli authorities have decided to keep Issawi in detention for 24 hours pending investigation.

There was no comment from Israeli authorities.

In 2011, after 10 years of prison, Issawi had been released as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Issawi was later arrested in 2012 on claims of entering Al-Ram town northeast of Al-Quds in violation of the deal.