Ramallah- Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Rami Hamdallah said that he holds the Israeli government responsible for the safety of journalist Mohamed al-Qiq. Hamdallah asked the international community to help secure his release, and reiterated the need for an international force to protect Palestinians against a brutal Israeli occupation.

Israeli authorities sentenced al-Qiq to six months administrative detention on the 17 of December without charge or trial, with his detention subject to indefinite renewal. Al-Qiq has been on a hunger strike for 65 days; his health is deteriorating fast. According to health experts, the risk of death grows tremendously after 50 days of a hunger strike; few individuals are able to survive beyond 70 days on water alone.

“Israeli politicians and their surrogates have long claimed that Israel is the 'only democracy’ in the Middle East, but this is a far cry from the truth,” said Jamal Dajani, Director of Strategic Communications & Media for Prime Minister Hamdallah. He added that Israel has deliberately stepped up its attacks against Palestinian journalists, in order to silence them from reporting about Israeli human rights violations in the West Bank.