Image by YouTube/Amnesty

JERUSALEM (JTA) – A Palestinian journalist ended a 93-day hunger strike to protest being held in administrative detention by Israel.

Muhammad al-Qiq, 33, agreed Friday to end his hunger strike in exchange for being released from the detention in May rather than June, with no extension of the administrative detention. His request to be treated at a Palestinian hospital in eastern Jerusalem was not granted, however.

Qiq was set to remain in HaEmek Medical Center in Afula for treatment of the devastating effects of the hunger strike; he had been near death for several days. He had refused all treatment, taking only plain water and refusing the infusion of minerals.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Israel has kept Qiq in administrative detention since Nov. 24. Under administrative detention, a prisoner can be held for six months without being charged or tried. The order can be renewed indefinitely.

Earlier this month, Israel’s Supreme Court suspended Qiq’s detention due to his failing health from the hunger strike and offered to release him by May 1 if he halted it. Qiq reportedly responded that he would not accept an offer unless it ended his detention immediately and allowed him to be treated in a Palestinian hospital.

Qiq has been jailed by Israel before, including a month in 2003 and 13 months in 2004, the French news agency AFP reported. In 2008, he was sentenced to 16 months on charges linked to his activities on the student council of the West Bank’s Birzeit University, according to AFP.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount