Israel's parliament on Thursday legalized the ability to force-feed in times of hunger strikes, a practice the country's medical association has strongly been condoned, Reuters reported.
The law passed with 46 coalition members in favor and 40 opposed in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 120-seat Knesset.
Israel has been concerned about hunger strikes in jails that can end in death and trigger a wave of Palestinian protests. Opposition party Join List spoke out against the move, calling the decision a "serious violation of human rights."
"The Knesset approved a law that legalizes torturing of Palestinian prisoners," the Joint List said in a statement. "The goal of the law is to defang their legitimate struggle under the guise of 'preventing the damage caused by hunger strikes.' This is a law that permits invasive and cruel intervention in the body of another human."
Israel's Medical Association considers force-feeding a form of torture and said the move was medically risky.
