24 August 2016•Update: 24 August 2016
By Anees Barghouthi
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Dozens of Palestinian activists on Wednesday closed the headquarter of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the West Bank city of Ramallah in protest of failure to pressure Israel to free hunger-striking prisoner Bilal Kayed.
Around 50 activists gathered outside the ICRC building and prevented the workers from entering the premises.
Protesters demanded an immediate release of Kayed, who has been on hunger strike for over two months now.
“The Red Cross and other international organizations have failed to protect Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails,” Amin Shuman, head of the higher follow-up committee for prisoners, told Anadolu Agency.
“Kayed has been on hunger strike for 70 days now and the Red Cross, which is responsible for ensuring human rights for prisoners, did nothing,” he said.
Shuman vowed more rallies across Israel-occupied West Bank until Kayed is released from Israeli prison.
Kayed, 35, has entered his 70th day on hunger strike to protest his ongoing placement in "administrative detention" -- a policy by which prisoners can be held for up to one year without charge or trial.
Kayed was arrested by Israeli authorities in 2002 and sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
He was slated for release on June 13 of this year, but the Israeli authorities -- citing "secret evidence" -- extended his detention for a further six months.
According to official Palestinian figures, over 7,000 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, roughly 700 of whom are being held in administrative detention.
