70 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel start hunger strike

About 70 prisoners imprisoned in Israeli prisons started an open hunger strike today to demand “solitary confinement” come to an end and for the matter of sick prisoners be looked into.

A statement made by Palestinian Prisoners Society, a non-governmental organisation, said: “Nearly 70 prisoners from various Israeli prisons have started an open hunger strike to demand the end of the solitary imprisonment of Nahar Al-Saadi and a group of other [unnamed] prisoners as well as looking into the cases of ill prisoners.”

According to the statement, which the Anadolu Agency received a copy of; the prisoners are being held in Ramon, Eshel, Nafha, Ofer, and Negev prisons.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said the inmates “gave the prison administration until Tuesday December 9 to respond to the demands of prisoner Nahar Al-Saadi, who has been on hunger strike since November 20, 2014. However, the responses were negative and based on this, they decided to go on hunger strike.”

The Israeli prison administration had put Al-Saadi in solitary confinement since last May and he has been deprived from family visits for two years, according to the statement. He is serving four life sentences in addition to 20 years in jail.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Qaddoura Fares said in a statement: “This measure has been taken as a result of the inflexibility of the prison administration and its failure to commit to the promises it made to the prisoners.”

“This was blatantly done in the case of Nahar Al-Saadi, as the administration promised to end his isolation mid last month, but instead renewed his solitary confinement order.”

Fares considered these measures to be “a natural reaction to the prison administration’s violations of prisoner rights and its continued punishments.”

Al-Saadi was put in solitary confinement due to suspicions that he “poses a threat to the police and prison administration on one hand, and the Israeli public opinion on the other, by communicating with other prisoners.”

Solitary confinement involves small cells in special blocs isolated from the other prisoners. The area of these cells is 2×2 metres and the use of electric equipment is prohibited, according to a statement to Anadolu by a prisoner who has experience solitary confinement but who preferred to remain anonymous.

In addition to this, the movement of prisoners held in solitary confinement is restricted. They are only allowed to leave their cell for two hours a day while remaining in hand and foot restraints. They are not permitted to buy their basic essentials from the prison canteen during the first six months of solitary confinement.

Prisoners use money sent from their families to buy supplies from the canteen.

No comment has been received from the prison administration regarding the prisoners’ hunger strike.

According to official Palestinian statistics, over 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are imprisoned in Israeli prisons.