EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed concern about the the deterirorating health condition of four Palestinian hunger strikers in Israel.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission reports "The High Representative is following with concern reports about the deteriorating health condition of Ayman Sharawna, Samer Issawi, Jafar Ezzedin and Tareq Qaa’dan, Palestinians in Israeli detention who have been on an extended hunger strike."
"The EU calls on the government of Israel to allow for the immediate restoration of their family visiting rights and calls for the full respect of international human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners," she added.
Ashton reiterated the EU’s "longstanding concern about the extensive use by Israel of administrative detention orders, which currently apply to Jafar Ezzedin and Tareq Qaa'dan."
"Under international law, detainees have the right to be informed about the reasons underlying any detention and to have the legality of their detention determined without undue delay. "
"The EU calls upon Israel to bring formal charges against any individuals detained, with a view to bringing them to a fair trial without undue delay," the statement said.
One of the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi was arrested by the Israeli army in Operation Defensive Shield during the second intifada in 2002.
A member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Issawi was sentenced to 30 years in prison for terrorism-related activity. He served 10 years, and in October 2011 was released along with 476 other Palestinian terrorists in the Egypt-brokered deal between Hamas and Israel that led to the release of Gilad Shalit.
But he was re-arrested last year as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said he had violated the terms of his release. He began a hunger strike shortly after his arrest.
An Israeli government official responded to Ashton’s statement by saying Israel “strictly abides by all international laws and conventions regarding our prisoners, who have the right of judicial review all the way up to the Supreme Court.”