Palestine's national soccer team player is now becoming critically ill as he is now on his 70th day on hunger strike.
Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 25, was arrested and interrogated whilst leaving the Gaza strip to join his fellow soccer team mates in the West Bank.
al-Sarsak has been on hunger strike since 19th March in protest against being held without charge or trial under the "unlawful combatant law" by the Israeli Prison Service.
This is the first case where a prisoner on hunger strike has been held under the "unlawful combatant law".
According to Israeli law the incarceration of prisoners under"unlawful combatant" means "a person who has participated either directly or indirectly in hostile acts against the State of Israel or is a member of a force perpetrating hostile acts against the State of Israel, where the conditions prescribed in Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 12th August 1949 with respect to prisoners-of-war and granting prisoner-of-war status in international humanitarian law, do not apply to him"
Addameer lawyers stated that the law provides "even fewer legal protections than Palestinians held in administrative detention."
According to the ministry, Israel offered to release al-Sarsak on 12th July and exile him to Norway, but this offer was refused after the IPS refused to put this in writing. An earlier offer of releasing him on 1st july was retracted.
al Sarsak's father has appealed to the international sporting community to show solidarity with his son.
