Deal reached to free hunger striking athlete Mahmoud Sarsak

By Haggai Matar June 18, 2012 | Edit

Mahmoud Sarsak’s lawyer has confirmed reports that a deal has been struck with Israel, prompting his release and putting an end to 92 days of hunger strike.

Mohammad Jabarin, lawyer of hunger striking Palestinian national football team’s midfielder Mahmoud Sarsak, has told Ma’an news agency that Sarsak will be released from prison on July 10, after three years without charge or trial, during which he was considered an “unlawful combatant.” The deal was struck after 92 days of Sarsak’s hunger strike. Sarsak’s life was considered at serious risk, and Israel was facing growing international pressure – most recently expressed by Eric Cantona, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, and an Israeli conscientious objector who started a solidarity hunger strike in military prison. Sarsak will gradually start to eat in the coming days while still in the hospital ward in prison. It is yet unclear whether permanent damage has been caused to his muscles.

Demonstration in Ramallah in support of Sarsak, today (Ahmad Al-Bazz / Activestills)

This is the fourth concession of its kind that Israel has made in recent months, the first three with administrative detainees Khader Adnan, Hana Shalabi, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh. The deal with Adnan was struck after the 66th day of his hunger strike, and with Diab and Halahleh after they both passed the 80-day mark. Several other administrative detainees are still on strike.

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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