The Supreme Court on Sunday rejected an appeal to release hunger striking administrative detainee Khalil Awawdeh who is currently hospitalized in serious condition, Haaretz reported.
Following Friday's order by the Central Command to freeze Awawdeh's administrative detention as long as he is in the hospital, the judges of the Supreme Court ruled that the court has no room to intervene in the decision to keep Awawdeh under arrest despite his medical condition.
According to the Central Command's order, Awawdeh, is under no restrictions compared to other patients while he is hospitalized, but his arrest is to be reinstated as soon as he leaves the hospital.
Judges Daphne Barak-Erez, Ofer Grosskopf and Alex Stein wrote that, having reviewed confidential material presented to them, there is "very solid" justification to keep Awawdeh under administrative arrest.
The judges added that, according to medical opinion submitted to the court today, Awawdeh's condition is serious and he refuses to receive medical treatment. It was also noted that he "showed a willingness to receive immediate medical intervention" in case he reached a critical life-threatening condition.
Awawdeh's attorney, Ahlam Haddad, asked the judges to allow Awawdeh's family to visit him, based on the fact that he is currently allowed to receive visitors. In response, the judges wrote that they expect clear instructions on the matter to be given to the relevant authorities.
Awawdeh has been on a hunger strike since the start of July to protest his detention. He was admitted to Assaf Harofeh Hospital on August 11.
Awawdeh’s name made headlines when the Islamic Jihad demanded his release as part of the conditions for the ceasefire that ended the IDF’s Operation Breaking Dawn.
While the Islamic Jihad claimed that Israel agreed to release both Awawdeh and Bassam Al-Saadi, the group’s leader in Judea and Samaria who was arrested before the start of the operation, Israeli leaders have denied the claim.
Jailed terrorists have more than once used the method of hunger strikes in order to pressure Israel to release them or improve the conditions of their imprisonment.
Israel has several times in the past caved to the pressure and released some hunger strikers.
At times, the terrorists were found to be secretly eating during the hunger strike. A prominent example of this was in 2017, when the Israel Police released footage of archterrorist Marwan Barghouti, who was caught eating in secret while maintaining the pretenses of his own hunger strike.