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Medical estimates put survival without food at between 45 and 61 days. Three Palestine Action activists in the UK are now pushing beyond that border.
Three British outlaw activists Palestinian action This group is on hunger strike to demand bail and a fair trial. His friends and relatives warn that they are on the verge of death, but are determined to continue until their demands are met.
Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed refused to eat for 70 and 63 days respectively as part of an ongoing hunger strike that began in November. A third prisoner, Lewie Chiaramello, also refuses to eat every other day due to type 1 diabetes.
Five of the eight people who participated in the demonstration ended their hunger strike due to health problems.
They are being held in different prisons for their alleged involvement in burglaries at the British branch of Israeli defense company Elbit Systems in Bristol, where equipment was damaged, and at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, where two military planes were sprayed with red paint.
They deny all accusations.
The group demands:
- Bail and the right to a fair trial, and the rescinding of the UK government’s designation in July of Palestine Action as a “terrorist organisation”, placing it alongside ISIL (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda.
- Closure in the UK of all Elbit sites, which are facilities operated by Israel’s largest defense company, manufacturing military technology used by the Israeli armed forces and other governments.
- An end to what they describe as censorship inside prisons, including the withholding of mail, phone calls and books.
All eight will have spent more than a year in custody without trial, exceeding the usual limit of six months on remand in the UK.
What is the effect of prolonged hunger on the body?
In the early stages of starvation, after several days without food, the body begins to break down muscle for energy.
As the fast continues, the metabolism slows down. The body loses its ability to regulate temperature, kidney function deteriorates, and the immune system weakens, reducing the body’s ability to heal from injury.
Once the body’s reserves are depleted, it can no longer prioritize nutrients for vital organs. The heart and lungs become less efficient, muscles shrink, and profound weakness sets in.
Eventually, as protein stores become depleted, the body begins to break down its own tissues. At this point, death may be imminent.
Scientific research into prolonged starvation is limited for ethical reasons; However, estimates suggest that a healthy, well-nourished adult could survive without food for between 45 and 61 days, meaning that the three activists have now reached or exceeded this threshold, placing them in extreme, if not fatal, danger.
International concern
Hunger strikes have long been used as an extreme, non-violent form of protest, relying on moral pressure to compel those in power to act. Historical records trace the practice to ancient India and Ireland, where people would fast at the door of someone who had wronged them, as a form of public humiliation.
In modern times, hunger strikes remain powerful political statements, often drawing international attention to cases of imprisonment, injustice or repression, even at the cost of the striker’s life. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated without charge by Israel have resorted to hunger strikes to draw attention to their case.
United Nations experts said hunger strikes are “often a measure of last resort by people who feel their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted.” They added that the state’s duty of protection towards hunger strikers is strengthened, not diminished, and that authorities must guarantee rapid access to emergency care and hospitals, refrain from pressure or reprisals, and respect medical ethics.
Kerry Moscogiuri, Director of Campaigns and Communications at Amnesty International UKdescribed the situation as alarming. She said it was “shocking that these activists have been forced to resort to such desperate measures to draw attention to their plight”, adding that the crisis reflects a “blatant abuse of counter-terrorism powers”.
