Palestinians held by Israel threaten hunger strike to protest abuses

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails on Saturday threatened to stage a hunger strike to protest Israeli abuses.

A committee representing the detainees said in a statement that prisoners will refuse security checks on Monday and Wednesday as a “warning” before staging their strike.

The detainees accused Israeli prison authorities of rescinding previous understandings reached in March under which they suspended their strike.

They cited arbitrary transfer of detainees, particularly female prisoners, as one of the Israeli abuses against them.

According to Palestinian figures, there are nearly 4,550 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including 175 minors and 27 female detainees, along with 670 detainees held under the Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial.

For years, Palestinians jailed by Israel have used hunger strike to demand better living conditions and an end to indefinite detentions.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar