A Palestinian female prisoner protesting her illegal detention by Israeli forces continues her hunger strike into the ninth day.

Hana Shalabi was released in a last prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel in October, 2011 but was detained again by Israeli forces on February 16. 

Shalabi, who spent 30 months in prison before her release last year, is

now under a six-month administrative detention, a military procedure which allows suspects to be held without charge indefinitely, said Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqaa. 

The news comes shortly after another Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan ended his 66-day hunger strike after securing a deal for his release in April this year. 

Adnan’s long-term strike attracted international attention and threw a spotlight on Israel’s use of administrative detention that sparked global condemnation. 

“Apparently the Palestinians in Israeli prisons are beginning to treat administrative detention in a new way after Khader Adnan’s case,” said Qaraqaa. 

The Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly called on Israel to immediately release Adnan and other Palestinians held in administrative detention. 

Amnesty has also urged Tel Aviv to end the practice of administrative detention because it violates the internationally recognized right to a fair trial. 

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and prisoner advocacy groups, there are currently over 6000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, many of whom have been rounded up without charge or trial. Independent sources put the number of the inmates at 11,000. 

DB/HJL