UK Activists End Hunger Strike After Elbit Contract Rejected

Three British activists imprisoned for their alleged ties to the banned group Palestine Action ended a prolonged hunger strike on Wednesday, January 14, after the UK government declined to award a major military training contract to a subsidiary of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie Chiaramello, who had been detained awaiting trial, announced they would resume eating following the decision on the contract, valued at approximately 2 billion pounds over a decade. The agreement would have involved training up to 60,000 British troops annually. Four other prisoners, Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib, who had paused their strikes earlier, also ended their participation and began refeeding under medical guidelines. The action, which began on November 2, marked the longest coordinated hunger strike in British prison history, lasting up to 73 days for Muraisi.

The activists' health had deteriorated severely by the strike's end. Muraisi, who refused food for the full 73 days, told a friend earlier that week she felt she was dying. Ahmed, on day 66, had been transferred to a hospital due to imminent risks, including organ...