Ramallah: The family of hunger striker Ayman Sharawnah have accepted deportation as a condition of his release so he can end his 117-day hunger strike. However, Ayman insists on continuing his life-threatening fast until he is released and allowed to return home. He says he is prepared to die to achieve his rights.

Ayman was released from Israeli prison in the Shalit prisoner swap deal, but the Israeli military re-arrested him only three months later under the pretext that Ayman was a threat to Israeli security in Hebron.

In an interview with Gulf News, Jihad Sharawnah, Ayman’s brother, said that his brother, a Hamas activist, was originally sentenced by an Israeli military court to 99 years imprisonment. The sentence was reduced to 38 years when Ayman appealed against the court ruling. He served ten years in different Israeli prisons before his name was put on Hamas lists at the Shalit prisoner exchange deal and the Israeli authorities approved it. “His release and our joy did not last long. The Israeli military raided our home and arrested Ayman and returned him to the very same room in Ramon Prison from which he was released in the deal,” said Jihad.

The Israeli authorities are now offering the 37-year-old Ayman to serve the remainder of his earlier imprisonment (28 years) or to go on open administrative detention orders or to be released and deported from the Palestinian Territories.

“The Israelis did not elaborate on the destination of the deportation whether it would be the Gaza Strip or a country outside Palestine,” said Jihad.

“Ayman and his family strictly refused the Israeli deportation offer, however Ayman’s deteriorating health conditions, especially after he stopped drinking water, forced the family to reconsider the offer,” he said.

“The family supported Ayman in rejecting the deportation offer. But we do not want to lose him, which could be very soon,” said Jihad.

The Israeli authorities have no solid evidence against Ayman except a claim that he was riding a car which Israeli authorities claimed was stolen. “The Israeli Prosecution has failed to indict Ayman in any way but used trivial and non-security related incidents to put Ayman behind bars,” he said.

Israeli authorities have denied Ayman’s family visitation and attempts by the Red Cross to intervene have failed.