Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi signed an agreement with Israel to end an eight-month hunger strike in exchange for an early release.
Issawi signed the agreement on April 23 at Kaplan Medical Center, where he is receiving vitamins intravenously. His uncle and brother were present at the signing of the agreement, the Ma’an Palestinian news service reported.
On April 22, Issawi said he would boycott court hearings, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli courts.
Doctors have said Issawi’s life is in imminent danger after 266 days of refusing food. Israeli officials are concerned about Palestinian violence that could erupt if Issawi dies in prison.
Under the agreement, Issawi will be released from jail on Dec. 23 and returned to his eastern Jerusalem home.
In 2002, Issawi was sentenced to 26 years in prison for terrorist activities. In 2011, he was among the more than 1,000 prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit swap, but he was rearrested more than a year later and shortly after started his hunger strike. — jta