Palestinian Detainees Boycott Israeli Courts in Support of Hunger-striker

Around 500 Palestinians held in Israeli jails without charge have launched a boycott of court proceedings related to their cases, in solidarity with Hisham Abu Hawwash, a detainee who has been on a hunger strike for 141 days to protest the use of administrative detention by Israel. The boycott means the detainees will refuse to appear at hearings where their administrative detention orders are considered by a judge, as well as appeals, which can reach the Supreme Court. Administrative detainees are held without trial, based on secret evidence that is shown to a military judge, but that neither the detainees nor their lawyers are allowed to see. The rights groups Physicians for Human Rights Israel says Abu Hawwash is in “imminent danger of death due to potassium deficiency and arrhythmia.” The Islamic Jihad terrorist group, with which he is affiliated, has threatened violence if he dies. Egypt is trying to mediate to end his hunger strike, according to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds.