Palestine Action activists end hunger strike in the UK

The three Palestine Action hunger strikers detained in the UK have ended their hunger strike following weeks of refusing food.

The decision was taken after a report announced that a UK-based subsidiary of a major Israeli weapons company was denied a UK government contract, cited by the Prisoners for Palestine group as one of the hunger strikers' “key” demands.

Hunger strikers Kamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi and Lewie Chiaramello were in a critical phase of the hunger strike, being at risk of multi-system organ failure.

Chiamarello, who is a type 1 diabetic and therefore refusing to eat every other day, has been on hunger strike for 52 days, Ahmed for 66, and Muraisi, who has been striking the longest, for 73 days.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Prisoners for Palestine said: “Our prisoners’ hunger strike will be remembered as a landmark moment of pure defiance; an embarrassment for the British state.”

Yesterday, an emergency protest was held in front of the Dáil in support of the three hunger strikers.

On Tuesday, it was reported by The Times that Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of the Israeli arms manufacturer of the same name, had failed to win a $2.69bn contract to help train British soldiers.

The three hunger-stikers were jailed over their alleged involvement in break-ins at Elbit Systems UK in Filton near Bristol in 2024.