https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/8366379f-a04f-4067-90fa-24f0496cb9d3 On the 45th anniversary of Bobby Sands' death, an Irish activist, Patrick, has explained to Sovereign Media why the IRA hunger striker remains a revolutionary icon from West London to the West Bank. Patrick, from the London Irish Brigade, recalled that Sands was elected as a British Member of Parliament while on hunger strike, receiving more votes than Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. When he died after 66 days without food on 5 May 1981, over 150,000 people marched past his coffin in west Belfast. "Him, and his comrades—ten hunger strikers died," Patrick stated. Sands was just 27 years old. "Bobby Sands is very significant, and also the Palestinians went on hunger strike," Patrick explained, noting that Palestinian support groups in Britain have also used the tactic. Indeed, hunger striking has been a weapon of last resort for Palestinians for decades. In February 2026, approximately 165 detainees at the Al-Junaid Detention Centre in Nablus began an open-ended hunger strike protesting administrative detention without charge or trial, torture, and medical negligence. Rights group Adalah has documented hunger strikers in Israeli prisons receiving death threats, and forced feeding—a practice widely condemned as torture. "It's an important weapon, but they shouldn't have to use their own body. It's a final tool against the state," Patrick said. Sands once declared: "They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of one Irishman who doesn't want to be broken". "That's true with the Palestinians as well," Patrick concluded. "Israel doesn't have in the whole imperial arsenal any weapon that would defeat the spirit of a Palestinian man or woman who want to fight for their rights". The body, it seems, remains the final battleground. Wed, 06 May 2026 14:11:38 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tankie.tube https://tankie.tube/lazy-static/avatars/3ba3ff73-a8b6-49c9-add8-9653ef090c7f.webp https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/8366379f-a04f-4067-90fa-24f0496cb9d3 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tankie.tube/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.