Ramallah, January 13 (RHC)-- The head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs says the Israeli regime is due to force-feed a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for weeks now.

Issa Qaraqe said on Tuesday that Palestinian prisoner Muhammad al-Qiq is in Afula hospital where a team has been tasked with force-feeding him, Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported. The inmate, who has been on a hunger strike since November 24th, is said to be in critical condition.

A journalist from the village of Dura near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, al-Qiq was taken a to hospital after losing more than 20 kilograms. He was reportedly unable to move without a wheelchair.

Two other Palestinian hunger strikers, identified as Kifah Hattab and Abdullah Abu Jaber, are also hospitalized, Qaraqe said, adding that the Israeli Prison Service has not negotiated with the hunger strikers, and a medical team is now getting ready to force-feed al-Qiq.

In July last year, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed into law the controversial legislation to force-feed prisoners on hunger strike. The move met fierce condemnations, with critics insisting that it is a form of torture to silence protesting inmates.

Israel has long been concerned that hunger strikes by Palestinians in its prisons could end in death and trigger waves of protest in the occupied lands.