Hamas detainees strike to protest Israeli abuses

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Hamas detainees in Israeli prisons staged an open-ended hunger strike on Sunday to protest Israeli abuses.

A statement by the Palestinian resistance group, however, did not provide details about the number of detainees participating in the strike.

Palestinian prisoners have complained of Israeli abuses against female detainees in Israel.

Last week, a Hamas detainee stabbed an Israeli guard in the Nafkha Prison in southern Israel in protest of abuses against Palestinian female prisoners.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Israeli prison authorities have taken punitive measures against Hamas prisoners, including depriving them from visits and confiscating all electronic devices from their cells.

According to the NGO, there are around 4,550 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including 170 minors, 32 female detainees and at least 500 held without charge or trial.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara