A Palestinian prisoner who nearly died during a 66-day hunger strike resumed his protest today after he was re-arrested following his release from an Israeli hospital.
The move sparked renewed Palestinian outrage after days of unrest at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site and a spurt of violence that killed an Israeli motorist on the Jewish New Year. The unrest has raised fears of a new outbreak of heavy violence in the holy city.
Supporters of Mohammed Allan said he was detained in a hospital courtyard in the southern city of Ashkelon just moments after being discharged. Allan had been hospitalized for the past month after suffering brain damage and other health issues during his hunger strike.
His father, Nasser Allan, said his son had resumed the hunger strike. "This means they want to kill him," he said. "They know he is very weak, and they know if they don't release him he will resume his strike and that puts his life at real risk."
Allan staged the hunger strike to protest Israel's controversial practice of "administrative detention," which allows it to hold suspected militants without charge for months at a time. Allan has been held since last November under the procedure.
Allan could also become the first test of a new law, passed narrowly in July, which allows Israel to force feed a hunger striker if his life is in danger, even if the prisoner refuses. Israel's medical establishment has denounced the law as inhumane.
During his prolonged hunger strike, Allan was not force-fed, which entails inserting a feeding tube into the stomach. He was, however, given intravenous fluids, vitamins and nutrients as his condition deteriorated.
The Israeli Supreme Court suspended the detention order last month and released Allan while he was hospitalized. But it did not specify what would happen to Allan if he recovered. His lawyer, Jamil Khatib, said he would appeal today's arrest, claiming authorities were required to review the case before detaining him again.
In a statement, Israel's Shin Bet security agency said it had decided to re-arrest Allan in light of "intelligence information" that determined he would "pose a danger to the peace and security of the region."
The security agency did not elaborate, but noted that his detention order is in effect until November 4, raising the possibility that he could be released after that.
Israel accuses the 31-year-old Allan of links to Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group that has carried out scores of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. Allan, who spent three years in prison on charges of involvement with the group, has said he is no longer affiliated with it.
