Ramallah: The Israeli Public Prosecution is reviewing one indictment against a Palestinian man simultaneously in two different courts.
While the case of Samer Al Eisawi, the Palestinian hunger striker from occupied East Jerusalem, has been on review in the Israeli occupation’s Jerusalem Magistrates Court and the Ofer Military Court, Al Eisawi’s family has warned that Israel may attempt to revoke his Jerusalem identity card.
Jerusalem identity cards are issued by Israeli occupation authorities to Palestinian residents of occupied Jerusalem, without which entry and residence in the holy city can be severely restricted.
“How can a prisoner be tried in two different courts for the same accusation? This is the Israeli legal approach,” said Sherine Eisawi, Samer’s sister.
Sentenced by an Israeli court to 30 years’ imprisonment in 2002, Al Eisawi had served 10 years before his name was approved by the Israeli government as one of the prisoners to be released in the Shalit prisoner exchange deal.
He was released on October 18, 2011 but Israeli occupation forces re-arrested him on July 7, 2012, claiming that he had visited the West Bank in violation of the prisoner swap deal.
Al Eisawi began a hunger strike on August 1, 2012 protesting his re-arrest.
Sherine has strongly denied the Israeli claims and stressed that her brother did not visit the West Bank at all after he was released from prison. “Despite the fact that Samer never visited the West Bank after he was released, visiting the West Bank in itself was not an article in the conditions of the deal at all,” she told Gulf News. “Samer never exited the boundaries of the city of [occupied] Jerusalem after he was released,” she said.
Sources close to the case claim that Israeli investigators are using the threat of revocation of his Jerusalem identity card to press Al Eisawi to end his fast and accept the Israeli offer.
The 33-year-old has rejected an Israeli offer of release in return for his deportation. “Samer ordered his lawyers to not even discuss such offers with the Israeli officials,” said Shirine. Al Eisawi’s father, mother, two sisters and two brothers have been denied the right to visit him in prison or the hospital.
The two Israeli courts reviewing his indictments have requested the prisoner continue his earlier imprisonment and complete his 30 years’ imprisonment.
“It is either freedom and a safe return to his home in Al Eisawiyah of East Jerusalem or death,” said the sister who also highlighted her family’s concerns about Samer’s deteriorating health condition.
“Samer’s medical condition is very bad and dangerous. Samer vomits blood and frequently loses consciousness and has serious pain in his kidneys. He has lost at least 20 kilograms,” she said.
The Israeli Prison Service referred Al Eisawi to a hospital after the prison doctors said his medical condition was very poor.
Like many other Palestinian families, Al Eisawi’s has had a history of confrontation with the Israeli occupation. His brother Fadi was killed by the Israeli military at Hebron’s Al Ebrahimi Mosque in 1994. His other brother Medhat is currently behind bars in Israel for organising demonstrations in support of Palestinian prisoners in the holy land.
Meanwhile, on Monday Israeli authorities released the Palestinian hunger striker Hassan Al Safadi from Nablus of the West Bank. Al Safadi had staged two hunger strikes fasting for a total of 168 days. He received a hero’s welcome organised by the Palestinian Prisoner Club.
