Gazans rally to show solidarity with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israel

By Nour Abu Eisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinians staged a rally in the Gaza Strip on Monday to show solidarity with hunger-striking detainees in Israeli prisons.

Two Palestinians, Khalil Awawdeh and Raed Rayan, are on hunger strike for 96 days and 61 days respectively to protest their administrative detention in Israel without trial or charge.

Organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the rally was held outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City.

“Israel is fully responsible for the life of the Palestinian hunger strikers,” PFLP member Awad al-Sultan told the rally.

He called on international human rights groups to send medical teams to examine the health conditions of the Palestinian hunger strikers and “to shed the light on the suffering of detainees in Israeli jails.”

The policy of administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to detain anyone for six months without charge or trial, which can be extended indefinitely.

According to the Palestine Prisoner Society NGO, there are around 4,700 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including around 600 held without charge or trial.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar