Three prisoners affiliated with Palestine Action have ended a prolonged hunger strike after the UK government decided not to award a £2 billion Ministry of Defence contract to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems UK.
The decision followed weeks of mounting concern over the deteriorating health of those refusing food while being held on remand for protest-related offences. The hunger strike had become increasingly dangerous in recent days, drawing comparisons with historic actions and prompting calls for intervention.
The UK government’s decision not to proceed with the contract was confirmed late on Wednesday. Under the proposed agreement, Elbit Systems UK would have trained around 60,000 British troops each year. Following the announcement, several prisoners formally ended their protest.
Heba Muraisi, 31, was approaching day 73 without food. The number carried historical significance, matching the length of time reached by Irish republican hunger striker Kieran Doherty in 1981. Doherty survived the longest of 10 men who later died during that protest.
The risks were not limited to Muraisi. Kamran Ahmed, 28, would have reached day 66, while Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who has type 1 diabetes, had been fasting every other day and would have reached day 46. All three have now stopped refusing food.
The Prisoners for Palestine group said the government’s refusal to grant the contract fulfilled a central demand of the hunger strike.
The group said Elbit Systems UK had secured more than 10 public contracts since 2012, describing the refusal as a significant shift. It said the move by the Ministry of Defence reflected changing attitudes within government circles and demonstrated that sustained pressure could influence official decision-making.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Prisoners for Palestine also pointed to a meeting held on Friday between national prison healthcare leaders and representatives of the hunger-striking prisoners. The meeting, requested by the Ministry of Justice, included discussions on prison conditions and treatment recommendations.
Prison response
Four other prisoners — Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib — had previously paused their hunger strikes. Following the contract decision, they chose not to resume the protest and are also ending their action.
The group said all those who ended their strikes have begun refeeding in line with medical guidance, warning that refeeding itself can be dangerous and carries a risk of death if not carefully managed.
Umar Khalid, 22, restarted his hunger strike on Saturday after briefly pausing it and continues to refuse food.
Prisoners for Palestine said the hunger strike had already led to several outcomes beyond the contract decision. It said that in recent weeks, around 500 people had signed up to take direct action against what it described as the “genocidal military-industrial complex”.
The group compared that figure to the total number of people who had taken action with Palestine Action over its five-year campaign, during which it said four Israeli weapons factories were shut down.
It added: “Elbit Systems is living on stolen time. We will see it shut down for good, not because of the government, but because of the people.”
The hunger strikers also raised concerns about prison treatment and being held far from family. Prisoners for Palestine said Muraisi’s transfer back to HMP Bronzefield in Surrey had been accepted by HMP New Hall in Wakefield, where she was moved last year.
Her relocation hundreds of miles from family and friends had been another demand of the strike. The group said the acceptance of her transfer marked progress on that issue.
It also said Hoxha had been offered a meeting with the head of the joint extremism unit at her prison, which it claimed “orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’”.
Lasting message
Another demand raised during the hunger strike was an end to censorship of prisoners’ communications. The group said that during the protest, some prisoners began receiving bulk packages of previously withheld mail.
In one case, prison staff reportedly apologised for a letter delayed by six months. Books on Palestine were also eventually delivered after months of waiting.
Prisoners for Palestine said: “Our prisoners’ hunger strike will be remembered as a landmark moment of pure defiance and an embarrassment for the British state. It exposed to the world that Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime.”
Gib said: “We have never trusted the government with our lives, and we will not start now. We will be the ones to decide how we give our lives to justice and liberation.”
