Final Palestine Action hunger striker may die within days, says doctor | UK news

The last remaining Palestine Action prisoner on hunger strike has stopped drinking water and a doctor warned it could kill him.

22-year-old Umer Khalid has been on hunger strike since November. His performance was halted for a short time when he fell ill at Christmas.

He and seven others had stopped eating to protest charges they face on behalf of the Palestine Movement for alleged trespass or criminal damage.

They denied the charges and demanded they be dropped.

Everyone except Khalid has now stopped their actions. The last three ended their strike 10 days ago after the government decided not to award a £2bn contract to Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of the Israeli arms company.

Khalid has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that makes him more vulnerable. This condition causes weakness and wasting in the muscles around important joints in the body. He started his hunger strike again 13 days ago.

In the comment made by Prisoners of Palestine, Dr. Rupa Marya said the continued action could result in death within a few days, and Khalid’s health conditions could put him at greater risk.

Marya was suspended by the University of California, San Francisco, for her online comments about Israel’s war in Gaza. He claimed the university violated his right to freedom of expression and sued the university.

He said: “Without hydration, people often die from acute kidney failure and other conditions within three to four days.

“Due to Khalid’s health condition, the risk of dying earlier increases even more.

“As the UK government makes plans to build skyscrapers over the remains of children buried in Gaza, Khaled’s actions reveal the utter barbarism and racist hypocrisy of the UK legal system.

“If the UK government continues to stall by Monday, we can expect this young man to be in the process of dying, if not dead.”

Among those who ended their hunger strike earlier this month was 31-year-old Heba Muraisi, who reached the 72nd day; This was one day shy of the number reached by Irish republican hunger striker Kieran Doherty, the longest survivor of the 10 people killed in a 1981 action.

Palestinian prisoners said the decision not to award Elbit Systems UK the contract to train 60,000 British soldiers a year met an important demand. He said the company had won more than 10 public tenders since 2012, so the Ministry of Defense’s decision signals a change of thinking among officials.