The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has warned that the state of tension in various Israeli prisons is likely to significantly escalate as a result of violations against prisoners.
The group said in a statement released on Sunday that prisoners belonging to Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine had been on hunger strike for one day to protest sanctions imposed on them and as a “warning step”.
The human rights body pointed out that the Israeli authorities have imposed “retaliatory sanctions on hundreds of prisoners to put pressure on them and influence their morale”.
The media office for Hamas-affiliated prisoners also said that Hamas prisoners inside Israeli jails have declared the beginning of a series of “protest steps” to demand the lifting of the sanctions.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the office said that the prisoners will begin returning the three meals provided to them before launching an open hunger strike on 17 April, which marks Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.
The Israeli authorities have imposed a series of retaliatory steps against Hamas prisoners since June 2014, following the kidnap and murder of three settlers.
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