Palestine Action protesters pause hunger strike over health fears

Four Palestine Action-linked prisoners are still on hunger strike and four have paused their protest, Prisoners for Palestine group says

Two protesters in jail for alleged offences relating to the Palestine Action group have paused their hunger strike due to their deteriorating health.

Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib have decided to start eating again after 48 days of refusing food, according to a statement from Prisoners for Palestine.

They are among eight prisoners who went on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage. Four of the eight activists are still refusing food, with one – Heba Muraisi – now on day 52 of hunger strike, according to the group representing the prisoners.

Prisoners for Palestine said in an update on Tuesday evening that Qesser Zuhrah decided to stop her strike after experiencing “continuous excruciating pain in her abdomen”, while Amu Gib “experienced severe weakness, and brain fog”. They are both being held on remand at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey.

Ms Zuhrah, 20, is accused of aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage over the alleged break-in at Israel-linked Elbit Systems UK at Filton, Bristol.

She vowed to start her hunger strike again in the new year if the government did not respond to the protest.

Ms Gib, 30, is charged with conspiracy to destroy property and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place in relation to the alleged break-in at RAF Brize Norton.

Qesser Zuhrah (left) and Amu Gib (right) have decided to start eating again after 48 days refusing food, according to a statement (Prisoners for Palestine)

Four of the group of eight are accused of playing roles in the break-in to Elbit Systems and are due to go on trial in May next year at the earliest. The other four are accused of breaking into RAF Brize Norton in June, where it is alleged that they damaged two military jets.

The alleged offences took place before the group was banned under terrorism legislation in July.

Lawyers for the eight prisoners have called for an urgent meeting with ministers and claimed that there is a “real and increasingly likely potential” that their clients will die in prison.

The eight activists have issued a series of demands, including a call to de-proscribe the pro-Palestine activist group Palestine Action. Palestine Action was proscribed as a terror organisation in July this year by the then-home secretary Yvette Cooper, making support of the organisation an offence under terrorism legislation.

Campaigners outside the Royal Courts of Justice, central London (PA)

The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, has challenged the proscription of the group at the High Court, arguing that the move was “novel and unprecedented”.

The ban has since led to thousands of people being arrested under terror laws for holding up signs saying they oppose genocide and support Palestine Action.

In the months before the group’s proscription, between April and July 2025, there were 63 arrests for terror-related activity. This then increased by 2,608 per cent after Palestine Action’s ban, with 1,706 arrests recorded from July to September.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested on Tuesday at a protest in support of the prisoners on hunger strike, the Prisoners for Palestine group said. In a video, Ms Thunberg can be seen holding a sign reading: “I support the Palestine Action protesters. I oppose genocide” at a demonstration in central London.