France concerned over health of Al-Shalabi

France expressed concern Wednesday about the health of Palestinian detainee Hana Al-Shalabi, who has been on hunger strike for over 40 days to protest her detention without due process. "We are watching very closely the situation of this Palestinian detainee, whose health condition is becoming a concern," the Foreign Ministry said. Spokesman Bernard Valero added that France wanted to reiterate its position on administrative detention that is broadly used against Palestinians in Israel. This form of detention "must remain an exceptional measure, be limited in duration and its implementation must assure respect for fundamental guarantees, in particular the rights of detainees to a defence." On Tuesday, an Israeli Military Tribunal, which handles administrative detention, rejected an appeal by Al-Shalabi.