Palestinian detainee ends hunger strike, expelled to Gaza
Islamic Jihad hunger-striker Hana Shalabi ends hunger strike after 43 days. Compromise reached states Shalabi will be deported to Gaza for 3 years
A compromise between Israel and the Palestinian Authority regarding the release of Palestinian hunger-striker Hana Shalabi to the Gaza Strip was reached late Thursday, the Ma'an Palestinian News Agency reported.
Officials said Shalabi will be sent to Gaza for three years in exchange for giving up a 43-day hunger strike.
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Shalabi, 30, a supporter of the Islamic Jihad terror group, launched the strike to protest her administrative detention in Israel.
Palestinian sources reported that the agreement was reached after the Red Cross and several Palestinian officials intervened with Shalabi's consent.
Meanwhile,sources in Israel confirmed the details.
Several days ago, President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh to head the negotiations with Israel regarding Shalabi's release.
Al-Sheikh said the leadership in Ramallah was not involved in the negotiations as it rejects Israel's deportation policy.
He added that "Israel is responsible for the hunger-striker's well-being and should instead release Shalabi unconditionally to her home and family in the West Bank – not to Gaza."
An Islamic Jihad spokesman, Daoud Shihab, denied knowledge of the deal. "If it exists," he said, "the agreement would have been made without the group's involvement, as it rejects deportation."
Shalabi was released in October 2011 as part of the Shalit prison exchange deal, but was detained again on February 16 and has been held at HaSharon Prison since. She was admitted to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba last week due to a serious deterioration in her health.
An IDF source reiterated that if Shalabi "returns to her old ways and engages in terror activity after her upcoming release, she will be in violation of the current agreement, and therefore could be prosecuted once more."
