‘We will continue and escalate hunger strike,’ insists veteran Palestinian prisoner

The longest-serving Palestinian prisoner held by Israel has insisted that the hunger-strikers will continue and escalate their protest, Arab48 reported yesterday. “This,” said Karim Younis, 60, “is not only for the sake of our demands, but for the sake of our nation.” He has been held by Israel for 34 years.

Younis has been on hunger strike for 38 days and made his comments in a statement passed by his brother, lawyer Tamim Younis, to the National Prisoners’ Movement in Israel. He pointed out that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has proposed the suspension of the strike several times so that talks about the prisoners’ demands may begin. The proposals have been rejected every time, he added.

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The veteran inmate insisted that this “battle” is not related to the hunger-strikers alone, but to the “whole nation and its dignity.” He noted that while they may be “weak and pale” they have “the will to overrule their bodies.”

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On day 37 of the strike, he explained, the hunger strikers are planning to escalate their measures to challenge Israel’s “arrogance”. This will include an end to drinking salt water. Younis stressed that this move requires a “parallel” action beyond the prison walls.