Palestinians held in Israeli jails are top of Hamas priorities, insists Haniyeh

The new head of the Hamas Political Bureau said on Monday that the issue of prisoners inside Israeli jails is at the top of the movement’s priorities, Anadolu has reported. Ismail Haniyeh made his statement of intent at a gathering in a tent set up in a central Gaza park for people to show solidarity with over 1,600 Palestinian hunger strikers inside Israel.

“We say to the prisoners that your freedom is a national duty, your dignity is the dignity of the whole nation and we do not accept your suffering to continue behind bars forever,” the former prime minister of Palestine told the crowd gathered in the tent.

In his debut speech following his election as the Islamic Resistance Movement’s top official, Haniyeh said that working for the sake of the prisoners has run very deep within Hamas, and still does. “Victory comes after one more hour of patience,” he explained, “and it is my great honour to bear this responsibility as I lead Hamas’s Political Bureau.”

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The Palestinian prisoners in Israel have been on hunger strike for 23 days. They are calling for improved conditions and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention.

According to human rights groups, there are around 7,000 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.