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Palestinian Detainees Launch Mass Hunger Strike in «Israeli» Jails

Palestinian Detainees Launch Mass Hunger Strike in «Israeli» Jails
folder_openPalestine access_time6 years ago
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Hundreds of Palestinians in "Israeli" jails launched a hunger strike Monday following a call from leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a movement that could mark a serious challenge to "Israeli" authorities if sustained.

Palestinian Detainees Launch Mass Hunger Strike in «Israeli» Jails

The hunger strike was called for in connection with Palestinian Prisoners Day, observed annually, but also ahead of commemorations this summer marking 50 years since the 1967 Six Day War and the start of "Israel's" occupation.

Hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners occur regularly, but rarely on such a large scale. A series of protests were also being held in Palestinian cities in connection with Prisoners Day.

Barghouti's call for the strike had given it added credibility, with the 57-year-old serving five life sentences over his role in the second Palestinian intifada.

He is a popular figure among Palestinians, with polls suggesting he could win the Palestinian presidency. Graffiti showing the iconic image of his cuffed hands raised above his head flashing a peace sign while being led away by "Israeli" authorities can be seen in the occupied West Bank.

"Decades of experience have proved that 'Israel's' inhumane system of colonial and military occupation aims to break the spirit of prisoners and the nation to which they belong, by inflicting suffering on their bodies, separating them from their families and communities, using humiliating measures to compel subjugation," Barghouti wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

"In spite of such treatment, we will not surrender to it."

Issa Qaraqe, head of prisoners affairs for the Palestinian Authority, said that "around 1,300 Palestinian prisoners" were participating in the hunger strike and the number could rise.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club NGO put the number at 1,500.

"Israeli" prison service spokesman Assaf Librati said that some 1,100 detainees had announced their intention to begin a hunger strike across at several prisons.

"The prisons service has started taking disciplinary measures against the strikers and in addition a number of prisoners have been transferred to separate wings," he said.

"It is to be emphasized that the [prison service] does not negotiate with prisoners."

Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by the "Israeli" apartheid regime.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's office called on the entity to respond to the prisoners' demands for "freedom and dignity."

Barghouti's wife Fadwa told AFP at a demonstration in Ramallah that the demands were in line with "international law and recognized as part of human rights."

The last large-scale hunger strike was in February 2013, when 3,000 Palestinians refused to eat for one day to protest against the death of a fellow detainee.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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