Palestinian man in Israeli jail ends hunger strike after release deal

Palestinian man held by Israel without charge or trial has said that he is ending his nearly six-month hunger strike after reaching an agreement that will see him released in October.

The Commission of Detainee Affairs, part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Khalil Awawdeh, 40, had reached an agreement that would see him released on October 2, "after fighting an epic battle for which he sacrificed his flesh and life."

It said he will remain in an Israeli hospital until he has fully recovered.

In a video circulated online on Wednesday and apparently shot from his hospital bed, Awawdeh confirmed that an agreement had been reached for his release, calling it a "resounding victory" for the Palestinian people.

Awawdeh was protesting being held without charge or trial in what's known as "administrative detention."

Lawyers and physicians had warned that Awawdeh, a father of four from the occupied West Bank, was at risk of dying and already suffering neurological damage from the prolonged hunger strike. 

In recent pictures, he appears extremely gaunt and ill, his skin tightly stretched over a bony frame.

READ MORE: Lawyer: Palestinian on hunger strike in Israeli custody can die imminently

Protesting 55-year military occupation

Ahlam Haddad, Awawdeh's lawyer, said this week that her client weighs 37 kilogrammes and is suffering from neurological damage.

He took vitamins over two weeks in June when he thought his case was being resolved but has otherwise only had water since the strike began in March, his family says.

Israel had officially suspended his arrest, but he remained in custody at an Israeli hospital.

Several Palestinians have gone on prolonged hunger strikes in recent years to protest being held in administrative detention.

In most cases, Israel eventually released them after their health significantly deteriorated. None have died in custody, but many have suffered irreparable neurological damage.

Some 4,400 Palestinian prisoners are being held in Israeli prisons. Palestine views all of them as political prisoners held for resisting Israel's 55-year military occupation of Palestine's territories.