Palestine Action Hunger Strike Exposes Systemic State Violence Against Anti-Colonial Activists

The ongoing hunger strike by Palestine Action activists in British prisons represents a profound indictment of the state's weaponisation of carceral violence against those challenging imperial complicity. As three of the original eight hunger strikers have ended their protest due to deteriorating health conditions, the remaining activists continue their resistance against what they rightfully identify as state persecution for their anti-colonial solidarity work.

Medical Neglect as State Violence

The treatment of Zara Zuhrah, who was hospitalised last week amid allegations of denied medical assistance at HMP Bronzefield, exemplifies how the prison-industrial complex operates as a tool of political repression. Amy Gardiner-Gibson, known as Amu Gib, was transferred to hospital on their 50th day of protest, highlighting the state's calculated use of medical neglect to break political resistance.

The remaining hunger strikers, Heba Muraisi, Teuta Hoxha, and Kamran Ahmad, have been refusing food for 49, 43, and 42 days respectively. Their sustained resistance exposes the violence inherent in a system that criminalises solidarity with Palestinian liberation while maintaining complicity with genocidal occupation.

Judicial Complicity in Political Persecution

The activists' legal representatives have issued a detailed warning to Justice Secretary David Lammy, demanding engagement with their concerns about systematic mistreatment. Their lawyers correctly identify this as "the largest co-ordinated hunger strike in British history since 1981," drawing necessary parallels to the Irish republican hunger strikes that exposed British colonial violence.

The High Court's pending review of the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action reveals the state's desperation to criminalise anti-colonial resistance. The activists' detention without bail ahead of trials in 2026 and 2027 demonstrates how the judicial system functions as an extension of imperial power structures.

Deconstructing State Narratives

Minister Lord Timpson's dismissive response exemplifies how state officials deploy procedural language to obscure their violence. His claim that "hunger strikes are not a new issue" deliberately erases the political context of this resistance, reducing anti-colonial solidarity to administrative inconvenience.

The minister's assertion that these activists are "charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage" reveals the state's criminalisation of direct action against complicity in Palestinian genocide. This framing obscures how property destruction targeting genocide-enabling infrastructure represents legitimate resistance to systemic violence.

Solidarity and Systemic Resistance

The Care Quality Commission's involvement, while potentially offering some oversight, cannot address the fundamental issue: the British state's use of carceral violence to suppress solidarity with Palestinian liberation. The commission's vague assurances about "appropriate processes" fail to challenge the underlying structures of oppression.

These hunger strikes demand recognition not merely as individual acts of desperation, but as collective resistance to a system that criminalises anti-colonial solidarity while maintaining institutional complicity with genocide. The activists' demand for Palestine Action's de-proscription represents a challenge to the state's broader project of silencing Palestinian solidarity.

Their resistance exposes how the British state deploys carceral violence to protect its imperial interests, demonstrating the urgent need for abolitionist approaches to justice that centre liberation over punishment. As these brave activists risk their lives challenging state complicity, their struggle demands our unwavering solidarity and recognition of their sacrifice for Palestinian freedom.