Palestinian Arab terror prisoner Mohammed Ala’an slipped into unconsciousness Friday after 60 days on a hunger strike and is now on life support at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
Ala’an, 31, has been held in prison on administrative detention on suspicions of involvement in terrorist activity with the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
Because he also experienced hallucinations and convulsions, doctors at Barzilai were forced to resuscitate the patient and then place him on a respirator.
Ala’an, who was admitted to the hospital earlier this week, also received a saline drip and was taken for a CT scan to determine whether he is in a coma. On Saturday evening he was listed in stable condition.
The military wing of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, to which he is alleged to belong, threatened Friday to attack if Ala’an dies.
“If he dies, we will respond with force and put an end to our commitment to maintaining calm,” the group said in a statement.
Doctors at the hospital who to this point have not treated him — in accordance with his wishes — expressed concern to Ala’an’s family that he may suffer disability in the future as a result of the hunger strike.
Ala’an’s mother has been at his bedside, according to Ynet, which reported that she is “supporting her son and encouraging him to continue his protest. According to medical teams she even calls him a ‘shahid (martyr) .”
His father said Ala’an is “determined to continue his hunger strike despite its threat to his life. Now he is in the hands of his God and all we can do is pray to God to protect his life.”