The Knesset was in an uproar this week, following the June 9 approval of the first reading of a law that would allow the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike. The law is being advanced by the Israeli government, under instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At the same time, the hunger strike by a dozen Palestinian prisoners held under administrative detention in Israeli jails is expanding. It now enters its 50th day.

The current strike by administrative detainees began on April 24. A group of 85 prisoners launched a hunger strike with no time limit, until they are either put on trial or released from prison. Over time, their numbers grew, so there are now 240 prisoners participating in the strike. Many have since been hospitalized because of their declining health.

The preface to the proposed law contains a detailed explanation of its timing and lists the motives that brought the Ministry of Justice to introduce the controversial legislation: “Strikes by prisoners are a familiar phenomenon, which repeats itself in Israel today to advance various objectives of the striking prisoners. … In some cases, the situation deteriorates so that their lives are in peril. As it stands, the situation demands the formalization of appropriate and adequate ways of dealing with these hunger strikes.”

The proposed law covers 16 pages, in which the state declares that prisoners lack the autonomy and freedom to make decisions about their person. It goes on to say that a hunger strike is, in effect, a violation of prison discipline. Since the Israel Prison Service is responsible for the well-being of its prisoners and detainees, it is obligated to feed the hunger strikers, once it receives the court’s permission to do so.