clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Palestinian detainees in Israel stage hunger strike

June 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm

Palestinian demonstrators hold placards during a demonstration in support of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in Gaza [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

Dozens of Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Ashkelon prison staged an open-ended hunger strike on Sunday to demand an improvement in their conditions, according to a Palestinian NGO, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said the hunger strike comes in protest of the prison administration’s rejection to meet the detainees’ demands regarding the right of exposure to sunlight, ending night-time cell raids and easing visit conditions for their families.

In April, hundreds of Palestinian detainees staged a hunger-strike for specific demands from the Israeli prison service.

READ: Female Palestinian prisoners in Israel jails to launch hunger strike

Along with better living conditions and more family visits, hunger strikers then demanded the removal of cellphone-signal jammers from inside Israeli detention facilities and the installation of public telephones.

The prison service fulfilled some of their demands after which the prisoners halted their strike.

According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority’s Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, the total number of Palestinians in Israeli custody currently stands at 5,700 — including numerous women and children.