Sharawneh to end strike as Israel offers exile to Gaza

Hunger striking prisoner Ayman Sharawneh Sunday agreed to end his strike, which lasted for seven months, and to be exiled to the Gaza Strip for 10 years, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC). Head of PPC Qaddura Faris said, in a press release, that Israel offered to deport Sharawneh outside of Palestine, but then offered to exile him to Gaza for 10 years after he expressed complete rejection to the first offer. Sharawneh is expected to be transferred from Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba to Beit Hanoun checkpoint and then to Gaza. Faris said that Sharawneh reached his decision after months of hunger striking to protest against his detention and after numerous warnings by the doctors regarding the severe deterioration in his health. Sharawneh’s lawyer Jawad Bulous said that the decision comes only a day before a hearing session scheduled to be held in Ofer Military Court, which was expected to convict Sharawneh and imprison him for another 28 days as the prosecution demanded.