Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants gather at a mourning house for Palestinians who were killed during Israel-Gaza fighting, as a ceasefire holds, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

i24 News – Amid an ongoing 170-day hunger strike, Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khalil Awawdeh’s life was determined in immediate danger, prompting the Israeli army’s Central Command on Friday to freeze his detention.

If, however, Awawdeh leaves the hospital, he would be detained again.

The Islamic Jihad member is no longer under the watch of Israeli security forces and can see visitors. His lawyer, Ahlam Haddad, later said he would only end his hunger strike when he’s completely freed from detention.

But on Friday, Haddad petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice to release Awawdeh, who is under administrative detention and being held without a trial. The attorney implored the top court to order the State of Israel to explain why it won’t release Awawdeh and to provide complete information on his client’s medical condition.

Awawdeh, who is on a hunger strike to protest his detention, was admitted to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center near Tel Aviv on August 11.

Haddad’s petition came after Israel’s Military Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an appeal to release Awawdeh. According to Judge Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Yinon, despite the Palestinian man’s deteriorating health, he would still pose a danger if he were released.

In his ruling, Yinon said the court hopes Awawdeh ends his hunger strike and suggested that the key to improving his health rests in his own hands.