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Capitulation? Islamic Jihad prisoner says Israel freeing him soon, ends hunger strike

Hunger-striking prisoner Khalil Awawdeh called the decision a “resounding victory” for the Palestinian people.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Khalil Awawdeh, an Islamic Jihad operative who has been held by Israel in administrative detention since December 2021, announced Thursday morning that he was ending a months-long hunter strike because Israel has agreed to release him in the coming weeks.

In a video circulating on social media, Awawdeh is heard saying that he has obtained a written promise that the State of Israel will not request to extend his detention after October 2nd.

Awawdeh called the decision a “resounding victory” for the Palestinian people.

The news of Awawdeh’s release comes just one day after Israel’s Supreme Court rejected for the second time a petition filed by his attorney that called for the judiciary to intervene and end his detention.

A week ago, the court noted that it had seen classified evidence that Awawdeh’s continued detention had “solid justification” and that he posed an imminent risk to national security.

An appeal to that ruling was denied yesterday, with Justice Anat Baron saying that she hoped Awawdeh would “come to his senses” and end his hunger strike.

Notably, Awawdeh is one of two Islamic Jihad prisoners whom the terror group claimed Israel agreed to release in exchange for the ceasefire that ended the recent Operation Breaking Dawn. At the time, Israeli officials vehemently denied such reports.

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Awawdeh has spent some 12 years in Israeli prisons since the early 2000s, including five years in administrative detention and an additional two prison sentences.

“There are many [Palestinian] prisoners who have been through this experience and were victorious,” Awawdeh’s wife, Dalal, told Al Jazeera in June 2022.

“Khalil, with his will and determination, will be victorious.”