Lawyer: Issawi too Sick to Attend Hearing

Samer Issawi is too sick to attend a hearing at Israel’s Ofer military detention center after 232 days on hunger strike, his lawyer said Thursday.

Jawad Boulus said in a statement that Issawi’s doctors informed the court that Issawi’s medical condition was too serious for him to attend the hearing.

Issawi was hospitalized in late February and stopped drinking water earlier in March. He has serious heart problems and is using a respirator, Boulus said.

The hearing will go ahead without Issawi, the lawyer said.

Issawi was freed in the Oct. 2011 prisoner swap deal between Hamas and the Zionist entity, but soldiers rearrested him on July 7.