Mohammed al-Qiq upon release from prison
Mohammed al-Qiq upon release from prisonWisam Hashlamoun/Flash 90

Israel freed on Thursday a Palestinian terror suspect held under administrative detention, who went on hunger strike for more than three months, an AFP journalist said.

After his release from prison in southern Israel's Negev desert, Mohammed al-Qiq arrived with his family at his home village of Dura, near Hevron, where he was met by well wishers.

"This victory proves that the occupation is fragile and its security equation is an imaginary one," he told journalists in Arabic.

"This victory today adds to the many victories of the Palestinian people that will go on, god willing, with greater resilience and consistency."

Qiq was arrested for terrorist activity on behalf of Hamas, though he denies he is a member.

He announced in February he was ending his hunger strike after authorities said they would not extend his detention under the administrative detention system, which allows Israel to hold dangerous prisoners without trial for renewable six-month periods.

The 34-year-old, who works for Saudi television channel Al-Majd, had fasted for 94 days in protest at what he said was "torture and ill treatment that he was subjected to during interrogation", according to Addameer, an organization which supports Palestinian terrorism suspects.

He occasionally took minerals and vitamins but mainly ingested only tap water.  

As with other terrorist hunger-strikers, his case was widely covered and the United Nations expressed "concern" about his condition.

Despite that "concern", Qiq was released in good health.

AFP contributed to this report.