United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric renewed his calls for Israel to either release Palestinians under administrative detention or bring charges against them if any exist.

He drew particular attention to the case of human rights lawyer Salah Hamouri.

“We are closely following the situation of Mr. Hammouri and other Palestinian administrative detainees held by Israel,” Dujarric said at a press briefing, adding:

“We’re aware that there are about 30 detainees, including him, who’ve recently ended their hunger strike, which had been going on since September”.

He reiterated an ongoing UN demand for Israel “to end the practice of [keeping] administration detainees, by either releasing people or charging them when there are grounds to do so.”

An Israeli court last month renewed the administrative detention of Hammouri, a dual Palestinian-French national, for an additional three months.

He has been detained without charge since being detained last March at his residence in Kafr Aqab, a Palestinian town lying between Jerusalem and Ramallah which Israel has annexed in violation of international law.

(THE NEW ARAB, PC)