Israeli doctors urge release of hunger striker Palestinian

The Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR) warned on Wednesday that a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 50 days faces "risk of death" and urged that he be immediately released.

Two visits during the past week revealed "serious deterioration" in Khader Adnan's condition, a 37-year-old activist with the Islamic Jihad Palestinian militant group, the Israeli human and medical rights organisation said in a statement.

"Currently PHR fears further deterioration in his health, possibly leading to his death," the organisation said, adding that Adnan was tied up by both hand and feet to his bed, "violating the medical ethical code", Xinhua reported.

Adnan is on hunger strike protesting his administrative detention in an Israeli prison without trial for almost a year.

Earlier, serving an administrative detention in 2012 he went on a 66-day hunger strike, sparking hunger strike by hundreds of other Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Adnan ended his hunger strike once Israel promised to release him, but in July 2014 he was recaptured and readmitted into administrative detention, again without charges.

Unlike previous hunger strikes, Adnan is on the so-called "Irish strike model", ingesting only water yet refusing minerals and vitamins, PHR said.

A spokesperson for the Prison Authority confirmed that Adnan "is under medical supervision" at the Assaf Harofeh Hospital in central Israel. She declined to comment on his medical condition.

Israel is working to push forward a bill permitting the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Opposing the bill is The Israeli Medical Association, whose chairman condemned force feeding as a form of torture, yet it was endorsed last week by the government. The new legislation is yet to be approved by the Knesset (parliament).

There are about 6,500 Palestinian prisoners, incarcerated in 18 jails and detention centres across Israel, according to the Palestinian Corporation for Prisoners in Israeli jails.