Sources in the Israel Prisons Service revealed on Monday that Tal Yinon Derdik, the administrative detainee whose family and legal defense claims had been on a hunger strike for several weeks, is not fully keeping to the strike.
According to the sources, in several instances Derdik ate meals provided to him during his detention, which included challah bread and fish.
It was further claimed, according to a report by Ynet, that he eats from time to time, even if not daily, and that, among other things, he ate a full Friday night meal. The IPS sources added that he consumes fluids every day.
A few days ago, Derdik was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation, after which he was returned to IPS custody. An IPS doctor examines him daily.
However, Derdik's brother, Idan, rejected the IPS's claims and was quoted in the report as saying: "Tal Yinon was evacuated to Hadassah Mount Scopus last Tuesday. Everything is documented. Knesset members visited him there, a doctor too. He lost 11 kilograms, dropping to 67. Everything is documented. Fainting, liver damage, and other damage."
Derdik, a resident of the Tarfon Farm outpost in the Binyamin Regional Council and a father of four, was arrested several weeks ago on allegations that he violated an administrative order issued by Central Command chief Avi Bluth, requiring him to remain under full house arrest at his mother-in-law's home, an order that, according to his family, had not been coordinated with her.
According to Israel's security establishment, Derdik was involved in a violent incident in Khirbet Humsa in March. Police allege that during the incident, Palestinian Arab civilians, including women and children, were assaulted with clubs, several were tied up, one victim was subjected to an indecent act, and four people required medical treatment.