Healthcare Workers for Palestine (HCW4P) and Global South Against Xenophobia (GSAX), together with other civil society organisations, have issued a statement urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene to protect the life of hunger striker Umer Khalid.
Khalid has been on a hunger strike for 14 consecutive days and, as of 24 January 2026, has escalated his protest to a dry fast, refusing both food and water.
The organisations condemned the United Kingdom (UK) government for detaining hunger strikers without trial.
“Our history of resistance to Apartheid demands that South Africa urgently contact British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to support the demands of political detainees in British prisons who are protesting Israel’s genocide against Palestinians,” the civil society groups said.
They further warned that Khalid suffers from a rare genetic condition, limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), placing him at heightened risk of rapid health deterioration.
According to the groups, Khalid’s demands include:
- Immediate bail for all political detainees
- A fair trial
- An end to censorship of detainees’ communications in prison
- The de-proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation
- The shutdown of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in the UK
The organisations also noted that South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) represents a critical step at the international level to protect Palestinians’ right to existence.
“We must, as a country, also support those exercising their right to stand in solidarity with Palestinians,” the groups said. “It is egregious that Britain, a democratic country, is unjustly arresting and detaining pro-Palestinian protesters, holding them indefinitely on remand, and banning them by labelling them terrorists.”
Photo: Supplied [Pro-Palestine members convened, urging government intervention]
