Eight activists linked to the direct-action group Palestine Action are deep into a desperate hunger strike inside British prisons, a protest that began on November 2, 2025. Several have been hospitalised as their health deteriorates dramatically, with doctors warning they face an “imminent risk of death” from organ failure and other severe complications.

This extreme protest is not just about prison conditions; it is a direct challenge to the British state. The strikers are demanding their immediate release on bail and for the UK government to reverse its controversial decision to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. The core of their protest, however, is a demand that resonates globally: the complete shutdown of Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in the UK.

A High-Stakes Confrontation

The prisoners are facing serious charges, including conspiracy and criminal damage, for their roles in protests targeting Israeli-linked defence firms and a major UK air force base. Some are accused of a break-in at an Elbit Systems facility in August 2024 that allegedly caused damage worth £1 million (approx. KES 173.5 million). Others are charged in relation to a June 2025 action at RAF Brize Norton, where two military jets were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million (approx. KES 1.2 billion) in damages.

It was the bold raid on the RAF base that triggered the UK government to ban Palestine Action under terrorism legislation in July 2025. This move, placing the protest group in the same category as organisations like al-Qaida, has been condemned by UN experts and human rights groups like Amnesty International as a disproportionate attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The Human Cost of Protest

The physical toll on the hunger strikers has been severe. The protest, now one of the longest in recent UK history, has led to at least eight hospital admissions.

• Amu Gib, 30, and Kamran Ahmed, 28, were both hospitalised in late December after more than 40 days without food, with reports of rapid weight loss and the need for a wheelchair.
• Dr James Smith, an emergency physician monitoring the situation, warned in a press conference that the strikers “are dying” and require urgent, specialist medical care that prisons are ill-equipped to provide.
• The health risks are grave and potentially irreversible, including neurological damage, paralysis, vision loss, and cardiovascular collapse.

An Unyielding Government

Despite the escalating medical crisis, the British government has refused to negotiate. Officials have repeatedly rejected calls for meetings from the strikers' families, lawyers, and even Members of Parliament. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated they would not create “perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.” Prisons Minister Lord Timpson noted that the prison service is “very experienced” in managing such protests and that established procedures are being followed.

This standoff leaves the activists in a perilous state, using the only tool they have left—their own bodies—to spotlight a cause that, for them, is worth more than food. As their health hangs by a thread, their protest forces a difficult question: in the fight for a political cause, how much is one life worth?