LONDON: The remaining Palestine Action protester on hunger strike in the UK is refusing to drink water, which a doctor has warned could kill him.

Umer Khalid, 22, has maintained his strike since November, with a brief pause around Christmas when he fell ill, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

Along with seven others, Khalid began the hunger strike in protest against charges for alleged criminal damage and break-ins carried out with Palestine Action, which is a banned group. All the hunger strikers have denied the charges and have called on authorities to drop them.

Khalid is the last prisoner still on hunger strike, with the previous three ending their campaign 10 days ago.

It came after the UK government decided not to award a lucrative arms contract to Elbit Systems UK, the British subsidiary of the Israeli weapons giant.

Khalid suffers from limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that makes him more vulnerable to the effects of the hunger strike. It causes weakness and wasting in muscles around important joints.

Dr. Rupa Marya, who was suspended by the University of California after she posted online comments criticizing Israel’s war on Gaza, said the continued campaign could lead to Khalid’s death within days.

She told Prisoners for Palestine: “With no fluid intake, typically people die of acute kidney failure and other derangements within three to four days. With Khalid’s underlying health condition, he is at increased risk of death even sooner.”

She added: “By Monday, if the UK government continues to stall, we can expect this young man to be well in the process of dying if not dead.”

One of the previous hunger strikers, Heba Muraisi, 31, reached day 72 of the campaign earlier this month before quitting.

The UK government’s decision over Elbit fulfilled a key demand of the hunger strikers, Prisoners for Palestine said.