A United Nations (UN) [official website] official on Saturday expressed deep concern for the health of Bilal Kayed, a Palestinian detainee that has been on hunger strike for more than two months [UN News Centre report]. Robert Piper [official profile], the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and Development Aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, released his statement [text, PDF] and called the situation “an egregious case.” Kayed was set to be released after serving a 14.5-year prison sentence, but he was placed on administrative detention and has not been released, charged or given any form of trial. Kayed began his hunger strike in protest of his detention, and six other detainees are following suit to protest their detentions and prolonged solitary confinement. Another 100 prisoners across Israel have begun hunger strikes in solidarity. “The number of administrative detainees is at an eight-year high. I reiterate the United Nations long-standing position that all administrative detainees — Palestinian or Israeli — should be charged or released without delay.”

The increase in violence in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict [HRW backgrounder] has created a contentious human rights situation. In July Israeli lawmakers passed a controversial law [JURIST report] increasing regulation on Israeli human rights organizations. Also in July Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called upon Palestinian and Israeli officials to properly address human rights violations committed by their forces [JURIST report]. In February Piper expressed a similar concern to the present case [JURIST report] regarding “the continued practice of administrative detention in Israeli jails and detention centers.” Piper specifically mentioned the case of Mohammed Al-Qiq, a detainee whose health was rapidly declining and reaching potentially irreversible damage. Makarim Wibisono [official profile], UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, resigned [JURIST report] from his position in January, saying that Israel has not granted him access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory after repeated requests.