Palestine Action-linked activist taken to hospital on 46th day of her hunger strike in UK

A PALESTINE ACTION-LINKED protester who has been on hunger strike in prison for 46 days has been taken to hospital, according to British media reports. 

Qesser Zuhrah (20) is one of eight remand prisoners who have been refusing food while awaiting trial for allegedly breaking into a building near Bristol belonging to Elbit Systems, an Israeli-based arms company. 

The BBC reported that two of the strikers have ended their protest.

Palestine Action has been classified as a terrorist organisation by the UK government but some members of parliament have voiced their support for the detained activists and protests have been held outside the prison in Surrey where they are being held.

Prisoners for Palestine, a group supporting the activists, has said the UK Prison Service denied an ambulance entry to the prison yesterday despite warnings that Zuhrah was close to death. 

MP for Your Party Zara Sultana yesterday called on Justice Secretary David Lammy to meet with the protesters’ representative, which he did not do. The Ministry of Justice building was recently daubed with red paint by pro-Palestine protesters. 

Sultana’s party colleague Jeremy Corbyn also made the same appeal, saying that rules regarding prison conditions had been breached.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined and said the government was following procedures related to hunger strikes. 

Corbyn said Starmer’s “dismissive response is shameful — and shows a lack of humanity toward people at serious risk of death”.

Advertisement

The activists began their hunger strike on the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, a public pronouncement of the British government’s support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. 

For the last two years, the UK has seen massive protests in support of Palestine during the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip and its increased attacks in the West Bank. 

The Labour government has responded by largely maintaining its material support for Israel and repressing pro-Palestine activism. 

Today, the police forces in London and Manchester both vowed to arrest people for chanting slogan “globalise the intifada”. In Arabic, intifada means resistance, or “throwing off”, and is commonly used to refer to Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. 

The move has been welcomed by Jewish groups, who see the expression as a threat to Israel, but it was condemned by pro-Palestine groups, who labelled repression of the right to protest. 

Two arrests were made in London today of people chanting slogans related to the intifada.

With reporting from Press Association

Need more information on what is happening in Israel and Palestine? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to navigating the news online.

Visit Knowledge Bank

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More Support The Journal