Palestinian journalist al-Qeeq ends hunger strike following deal that he be released from Israeli jail

Mohammed al-Qiq, a Palestinian journalist who has been detained in an Israeli jail without trial, agreed yesterday to end his 94-day hunger strike after clinching a deal for his release in May, a nongovernmental organization announced.

"An agreement has been reached under which his administrative detention will end on May 21 and will not be renewed," the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said, referring to al-Qiq's imprisonment without trial. Israeli authorities contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) did not immediately confirm or deny such an agreement.

Qiq, who works as a correspondent for Saudi Arabia's Almajd TV network, was detained on Nov. 21, 2015, by Israeli security forces at his home in Ramallah, West Bank, on allegations of inciting violence against Israeli authorities and being a member of Hamas. Refusing the charges, Qiq was detained for an unspecified period using Israel's controversial detention legislation, "administrative detention," as a legal basis.

The 33-year-old television reporter started his fast on Nov. 25 in protest of the "torture and ill treatment that he was subjected to during [his] interrogation," according to Addameer, a Palestinian rights organization.

Two weeks ago, a Palestinian official warned that Qiq's health was deteriorating by the minute. Issa Qaraqe, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) committee on detainees, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he lost almost 60 kilograms and was on the brink of death. Qiq's wife, Fayha Shalash, spoke to Daily Sabah last month and called for politicians to use all possible diplomatic and political channels to facilitate the urgent release of her husband.

Media reports suggest that Qiq spent one year in prisons without trial in 2003. He was then detained again for 13 months in 2004. In 2008, he was arrested for 16 months for his activities with student bodies at Birzeit University in Ramallah.

Qiq has occasionally taken vitamin and mineral supplements but mainly ingests only tap water, say doctors who have visited him in the hospital in the northern Israeli town of Afula where he had been admitted.

Israel's Supreme Court officially suspended the internment order against Qiq on Feb. 4, but refused his demand for a transfer to a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which is under the Palestinian Authority's jurisdiction. Last week, the United Nations, European Union, International Committee of the Red Cross and other rights groups expressed concern about Qiq, who refused any food or medical treatment and denounced administrative detention.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service says Qiq was detained after being accused of plotting "terror activity" on behalf of Hamas, which controls Gaza, a charge he denies. Israel placed Qiq in what it calls "administrative detention," a practice that has roots in the British mandate of Palestine. It allows a prisoner to be held for up to 60 days without charge and without viewing evidence against him, and can be extended with court approval.