Jailed Gaza engineer transferred to hospital

The Israeli Prison Service has transferred Dirar Abu Sisi, an engineer from Gaza who was abducted in Ukraine, to Ramle prison clinic, the PA ministry of prisoners' affairs said Saturday. Ministry lawyer Rami al-Alami said Abu Sisi suffered from health problems in his heart, kidney, gallbladder and eyes. Raafat Hamdona, director of the Gaza prisoner center, told AFP that Abu Sisi began a hunger strike on Aug. 16 to demand his release from solitary imprisonment and be allowed visits of members of his family from Gaza. Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said Thursday that Abu Sisi had begun a hunger strike three days earlier and that "all his personal items and electric appliances were removed from his cell, except for a fan." Abu Sisi, an engineer who was former technical director at Gaza's sole electricity plant, disappeared from a train in Ukraine in February 2011. Israel later announced it was holding him. According to the PA ministry, Abu Sisi has spent his entire detention in solitary confinement. Al-Alami said a group of prisoners from Eshel, Ramon, Nafham Shatta, Gilboa and Hadarim jails planned to start a hunger strike on Sunday to protest Abu Sisi's isolation. Prisoner Amjad Qabaha told the ministry lawyer that protests could escalate if Abu Sisi continued to be held in solitary confinement. According to a summary of charges by Israel, Abu Sisi is on trial for "activity in a terrorist organization, hundreds of counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arms production offenses" as a member of Hamas.