Three activists affiliated with the protest group Palestine Action have called off their hunger strike in prison, following a significant government decision regarding an Israeli arms company. The move came after the Ministry of Defence opted not to proceed with a substantial contract for Elbit Systems UK.
Key Demands Met as Contract Withdrawn
The pivotal moment for the protesters arrived when the Ministry of Defence chose not to grant a £2 billion contract to Elbit Systems UK. The deal would have seen the company, a subsidiary of Israel's Elbit Systems, train up to 60,000 British troops annually. The campaign group Prisoners for Palestine declared this fulfilled a central demand of the strike, noting it marked a shift as the firm had secured over ten public contracts since 2012.
The three individuals ending their full hunger strike are Heba Muraisi, 31, Kamran Ahmed, 28, and Lewie Chiaramello, 22. Muraisi had reached a critical point, having refused food for 73 days by Wednesday – matching the duration survived by Irish republican hunger striker Kieran Doherty in 1981. Ahmed was on day 66, while Chiaramello, who has type 1 diabetes and was fasting on alternate days, had reached day 46.
Wider Group Action and Health Concerns
Four other protesters – Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib – who had previously paused their strikes have also now formally ended their action. According to Prisoners for Palestine, all have now begun the delicate and potentially dangerous process of refeeding under medical supervision.
However, the group confirmed that Umar Khalid, 22, who resumed his hunger strike last Saturday, is continuing to refuse food. Concerns for the welfare of all participants had been escalating, given the severe risks associated with prolonged fasting.
Campaign Victories and Shifting Conditions
Prisoners for Palestine hailed several successes arising from the protest. They reported that Muraisi's transfer back to HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, closer to her support network, has been accepted. She had been moved to HMP New Hall in Wakefield last year, hundreds of miles from family and friends.
The group also stated that a meeting was held last Friday between national leaders of prison healthcare and representatives of the hunger strikers, facilitated by the Ministry of Justice, to discuss conditions and treatment.
Another demand focused on censorship. The campaigners said that during the strike, some prisoners started receiving bulk packages of withheld mail, with one even receiving an apology for a letter delayed by six months. Books on Gaza and feminism, previously held up, were also reportedly distributed.
In a statement, Prisoners for Palestine framed the strike as a landmark event: "Our prisoners’ hunger strike will be remembered as a landmark moment of pure defiance... It exposed to the world Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime." They also claimed a surge in support, with 500 people recently signing up for direct action.
Activist Amu Gib underscored the group's resolve: "We have never trusted the government with our lives, and we will not start now. We will be the ones to decide how we give our lives to justice and liberation."
