Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawda, who went on a hunger strike for 172-days last year in protest against his administrative detention, was released from Israeli imprisonment on Friday, September 15, Palestinian Informatiom Center (PIC) reported.
Upon arrival, Awawda was taken to the hospital for medical check up in Ramallah.
In his first statements after his release, Awawda told Palestinian media that the Israeli occupiers would eventually be forced to leave the Palestinian territories.
“Freedom is a great thing. People paid thousands of martyrs for freedom. Freedom is the dream of the Palestinian people. One day they will be liberated, and the aggressors will leave our land and our farms.”
He emphasized that Palestinian prisoners are united these days as never before in the face of fierce attacks led by the extremist Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Khalil Awawda was arrested on December 27, 2021, on charges of incitement.
He has been placed in administrative detention, without charge or trial, ever since. Awawda has been arrested four times since 2002, and this was his fifth arrest.
Khalil is known to be an educated young man, a memorizer of the holy Quran, and a social activist in his town. He conducted several campaigns with a group of volunteers to serve people.
He is a married man and father to four daughters: Tulane, Lauren, Maria and Maryam, the oldest of whom is 10 years old.
In March 2022, Awawda began a hunger strike to demand his release.
On August 31, 2022, he suspended his open hunger strike, after reaching a written agreement to set the administrative ceiling and release him on October 2, 2022.
But a few days before that date, he was accused of “smuggling” a mobile phone, which caused his prison sentence to be extended.