120 Palestinian Detainees Continue Open-Ended Hunger Strike

IMEMC – The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that 120 Palestinian detainees, held by Israel under arbitrary Administrative Detention policies without charges or trial, are ongoing with their strike demanding an end to their illegitimate detention.

The detainees started their strike on April 24 after the Israeli Prison Authority unilaterally rescinded and voided previously reached agreements with the detainees, including reconsidering and reevaluating its Administrative Detention policies against them.

Head of the Bethlehem Branch of the PPS, Abdul-Fattah Ekhlayyel, told the Radio Bethlehem 2000 that 51 of the striking detainees, held at the Negev Detention Camp, were forced into solitary confinement.

He added that 37 detainees at the Ofer Prison were transferred to the Ramla Prison, and were also forced into solitary confinement.

Three of them, identified as Mohammad Natsha, Daoud Hamdan and Tareq D’eis, were moved to the Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center due to their deteriorating health conditions.

The Israeli Prison Authority also imposed additional restrictions and sanctions on the detainees, and prevented most of them from meeting their lawyers.

It also cancelled several visits despite prior coordination.
Most of the striking detainees are elderly, and detainees who are suffering from various health conditions.

The PPS said that more detainees intend to join the strike as part of a coordinated move, and that expanding the strike will be based on the Israeli response to their demands, mainly an end to all Administrative Detention policies.

Ekhlayyel called for massive support to the detainees, and their legitimate cause, adding that more protests and campaigns are urgently needed, especially amidst escalating Israeli violations against the detainees.

He said that a protest is planned to be held, on Wednesday, at the Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Posted by Philip Giraldi on May 5 2014 . Filed under News from the Middle East . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 . Both comments and pings are currently closed.