Sharawne, Issawi appeal for Egypt to save their lives

Hunger strikers Ayman Sharawne and Samer Issawi have sent an urgent appeal to Egypt from their hospital beds in Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center asking for its immediate intervention to save their lives.

They said, addressing Egypt in its capacity as the patron of the prisoners’ exchange agreement, that their detention was of political nature and had nothing to do with breaching articles of the agreement as the Israeli occupation authorities claim.

They said in separate messages to the ministry of prisoners in Gaza on Tuesday that their health condition after 150 days of hunger strike, Sharawne, and 119 days of hunger strike, Issawi, was worsening by the hour.

They said that the Israeli prison authority was cruelly treating them and forcing them to strip search despite their condition.

The ministry, for its part, called for the biggest possible solidarity campaign with the hunger strikers, noting that Palestinian prisoners were going on hunger strike for one day Tuesday en masse in the first escalatory step in solidarity with Sharawne and Issawi.

The ministry asked Cairo to necessarily intervene to secure the release of those two prisoners since they were freed in the prisoners’ exchange deal, brokered by Egypt.