Occupied WB, ALRAY - 64-year-old Palestinian Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed al-Baz has been on an open-ended hunger strike for the fifth day in a row to protest against his administrative detention without charge or trial.

Asra Media Office said that Sheikh al-Baz has been admitted to Soroka hospital, after suffering a deterioration in his health condition, since he abstained from having water.

Despite a court decision to release him, the Israeli intelligence decided to extend the detention of Sheikh Yusuf al-Baz, triggering him to launch an open-ended hunger strike.

A father of six children, Sheikh al-Baz who is the Imam of the Great Mosque in Lod, was detained on April 30 over alleged charges of incitement against the occupation during the Israeli offensive on Gaza in May 2021.

According to Palestinian figures, about 4,500 Palestinians, including 32 women and 160 children, are currently languishing in Israeli detention jails.

Among them, more than 680 Palestinians are currently being held under “Israel’s” illegal policy of administrative detention without charge or trial.