Israel reinstates internment of hunger striker Allan

Israel reinstated the detention without trial on Wednesday of Palestinian Mohammed Allan, whose recent two-month hunger strike brought him near death and increased tensions in the occupied West Bank.

"Mohammed Allan, whose condition has improved, was arrested this morning by police at the hospital in Ashkelon," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement, adding he was transferred to the Ramla prison hospital.

His detention without trial, scheduled to last until November 4, was suspended by Israel's High Court on August 19 as he received medical treatment following his hunger strike, which twice left him in a coma.

Allan, a 31-year-old lawyer said to be a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, had previously threatened to restart his hunger strike if his detention without trial was reinstated.

His father Abu Mutheer Allan told AFP that he had spoken to his son on Tuesday night and he believed he would be allowed to transfer to a hospital in Nablus, near where he is from.
"My son told me that he doesn’t trust them (the Israelis) and if they break their promise to him, he will resume his hunger strike immediately," he said. It was not clear if Allan had done so.

The measure, known as administrative detention, allows imprisonment without trial for six-month periods that can be renewed indefinitely.

Israeli officials say it is an essential tool in preventing attacks and protecting sensitive intelligence because it allows authorities to keep evidence secret.

Human rights groups say international law allows for such detention under extreme circumstances, but that Israel uses it as a punitive measure that circumvents the justice system or as a crutch to avoid trial.

- Force-feeding debate -

According to Israeli human rights group Btselem, 370 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention at the end of June.

Three alleged Jewish extremists are currently in administrative detention following the July 31 firebombing of a Palestinian home that killed an 18-month-old boy along with his mother and father.
Many Palestinians have gone on hunger strike in protest, though few have continued as long as Allan's. His protest began on June 18 and ended on August 20.

In July, Khader Adnan was released after a 56-day hunger strike to protest his administrative detention.

Administrative detainees are allowed to appeal to the courts, but activists say the chances of having their detainment overturned are extremely slim.

Beyond debate over administrative detention, Allan's hunger strike also raised the question of whether a controversial law passed in July allowing for the force-feeding of prisoners in certain circumstances should have been invoked.

Israeli right-wing ministers argued judges had given in to "blackmail" in suspending Allan's administrative detention.

His hunger strike became a rallying cry for Palestinians, with pictures of his thickly bearded face posted on social networks and brandished on posters supporting his cause.
Israeli authorities allege that before his arrest in November he "was in contact with an Islamic Jihad terrorist" with the aim of carrying out large-scale attacks.

Islamic Jihad has said he is a member.

Allan was previously imprisoned from 2006 to 2009 for allegedly seeking to recruit suicide bombers and assisting wanted Palestinians, according to Israeli security forces.

His lawyers say he was never informed of the accusations against him during his recent detainment, and his friends have described him as "religious, but not radical".
Source: AFP