UK
Palestine Coalition statement on the hunger strikers – PSC
By the Palestine Coalition
We stand in solidarity with the eight imprisoned activists associated with Palestine Action, several of whom have now reached over 40 days of their hunger strike. Their condition is critical. Five have already been hospitalised, and each passing day brings the risk of irreversible harm.
These young people – none of whom have been convicted – have been held in extraordinary pre-trial detention, with intensifying restrictions on their mail, calls, visits, and work. These measures target not only their bodies but their ability to stay connected to their families, communities, and the outside world. For many, this has been ongoing for over a year – with some trial dates not scheduled until 2027 – simply for taking action to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Despite several UN Rapporteurs describing their treatment as constituting “enforced disappearance,” and doctors warning they are in the danger zone where irreparable harm is likely, David Lammy has refused to meet with their families or representatives.
This refusal to engage is not an oversight – it is a deliberate political choice. The government has consistently chosen to use repressive policing powers to try to silence those protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It is now choosing to ignore this emergency, suppress those raising the alarm, and shield the state’s complicity in the violence these hunger strikers sought to prevent.
While the genocide in Gaza continues – with daily violations of the so-called ceasefire – the government carries on with business as usual. The architects and enablers of this violence go unpunished, while these prisoners, who acted to stop it, are left to suffer in indefinite detention.
The criminalisation and vilification of Palestine solidarity will not stop people from standing against mass violence or demanding accountability; it only reflects the discomfort of a political order confronted by its own complicity.
We will be protesting on Wednesday evening outside Downing Street. We support the prisoners’ demands and call for their immediate release on bail and an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide. We will not be silenced in our solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum in Britain
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Stop the War Coalition
Muslim Association of Britain
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
- You can support the hunger strikers by attending the protest on Wednesday 17th December 6pm.
- You can follow the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok.
- This statement is taken from the PSC website from 16 December 2025.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
Left Foot Forward
The Your Party co-founder says she won’t leave the prison until they allow an ambulance in
Zarah Sultana MP is at HMP Bronzefield this morning calling for a hunger-striking prisoner, Qesser Zuhrah, be transferred to hospital for urgent medical care.
Sultana has said that the prison is refusing an ambulance for Zuhrah.
In recent days, Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days, has reported having chest pains from her neck to her shoulder, shortness of breath, dizziness and shaking limbs.
Zuhrah has already been hospitalised once in the last week, but was reportedly discharged without a diagnosis or test results.
She is one of eight hunger-striking prisoners. Five were admitted to hospital last week.
The hunger-striking Palestine Action prisoners are awaiting trial. They are accused of being involved in actions targeting Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer and RAF Brize Norton base.
Four of the detainees have been in prison for over a year without trial, which exceeds the standard pre-custody limit of six months.
Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn called on justice minister Jake Richards to meet with the hunger strikers’ lawyers. When Richards said “No”, some other MPs in the chamber could be heard laughing.
Corbyn said: “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
Last week, the speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, said it was “totally unacceptable” that Lammy had failed to reply to a request from the Labour MP, John McDonnell, for a meeting with MPs to discuss the hunger strikers.
Sultana is the first MP to join the protest outside HMP Bronzefield.
Zarah Sultana protesting outside HMP Bronzefield this morning. Credit: Zarah Sultana/X
In posts on X, Sultana said she had contacted the justice secretary David Lammy and the health secretary Wes Streeting urging for them to intervene.
However, she said: “There has been no response.”
“She just needs an ambulance. If she dies, it will be on their hands,” Sultana added.
Sultana has said she won’t leave HMP Bronzefield until the prison transfers Zuhrah to hospital.
Three hours ago, Sultana posted: “We’re not going anywhere until HMP Bronzefield accept an ambulance transfer for Qesser to get the emergency healthcare she urgently needs.
“Join us if you can.”
In her latest update, the Coventry South MP wrote: “Let the ambulance into HMP Bronzefield now, @DavidLammy.
“Otherwise Qesser Zuhrah is going to die.”
Lawyers representing the prisoners have warned that the hunger strikers are likely to die without Lammy’s intervention, but the justice secretary is still refusing to meet them.
In 1981, Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners carried out a hunger strike in which 10 of them died. Some died after around 46 days without food, while others, including Bobby Sands, died after 66 days.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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