Crowds protest outside hospital
Dozens protest for release of Palestinian hunger striker
Crowds tried to force their way into a hospital to free hunger striker Bilal Kayed, who is on administrative detention having completed 14-year prison sentence; 'He's a hero. He doesn't constitute a threat to anybody.'
Dozens of people turned up to protest outside the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon Monday evening demanding the release of Bilal Kayed from Nablus who remains in administrative detention despite having completed his prison sentence.
Kayed was sentenced to 14 years in prison in Israel after activities he carried out for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Crowds protest for release of Bilal Kayed (צילום: בראל אפרים)
Following the completion of his prison term, authorities imposed an administrative detention on him for an additional six months. In protest, Kayed went on hunger strike which continued for 62 days. Fellow PFLP prisoners also went on hunger strikes but stopped intermittently.
Protest outside Barzilai Medical Center (Photo: Barel Efraim)
As the protest continued the crowds outside the hospital became increasingly agitated and began shaking the gates in an attempt to force their way into the hospital. They waved Palestinian flags while calling on Israel to release Kayed: “This is a hero who completed his sentence. The State of Israel has to release him,” said one of the protestors.
The police presence was reinforced amid the rising tensions at the scene in an effort to quell potential violent outbreaks
Photo: Barel Efraim
One resident from Ar'ara in northern Israel, who participated in the demonstration said, “The conduct of the hospital is like that of a prison. I am shocked that a hospital that is supposed to be humane, with medical ethics is trying to force-feed somebody. They say that he constitutes a danger but to who? He already declared a number of times that he will not return to military activities.”
One week ago, thirteen people were arrested during clashes which broke out between Israelis and Israeli activists during a demonstration of solidarity with Kayed outside the hospital.
