Egypt tries to end Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike

Egypt has been dealing with the Israeli occupation authorities in an effort to end the ongoing Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike, a Hamas official has revealed. “The hunger striking prisoners left the door open in order to give room for the Egyptian efforts which started on Monday evening,” Wasfi Qabha told Arabi21.com.

The senior West Bank official and former Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs explained that the Israeli authorities had asked the Egyptians to postpone a meeting scheduled for Tuesday because of the General Election. It will now take place today.

Qabha pointed out that 150 prisoners have joined the hunger strike and submitted a list including the names of the new batch of those taking part. The Israeli Prison Service, he said, had not placed the hunger strikers in solitary confinement in an attempt to break their protest.

READ: Hundreds of prisoners held by Israel join hunger strike

The Hamas official passed on a message from the prisoners who are “bored with speeches; they want action on the ground from all the Palestinian factions in the light of the ongoing degradation they face inside Israeli prisons.”

Although the prison authorities accepted the prisoners’ demands, they have been rejected by the controlling politicians. This, added Qabha, is likely to push the prisoners to escalate their action, with hundreds more taking part in the hunger strike.