Israel accepts demands of Palestinian hunger strikers

Palestinian prisoners, who have been on hunger strike for months, announced yesterday evening the end of their strike after the Israeli Prison Services (IPS) agreed to their demands.

In a statement, a copy of which was sent to MEMO, the Palestinian prisoners said: “We reiterate that we have ended our hunger strike, which was an extension to the second Karama Strike, as the IPS agreed to our demands.”

The statement added: “The IPS pledged to carry out all the outcomes of the second Karama Strike.”

Meanwhile, the prisoners pledged in the statement that if the IPS retreated from its pledges, they would restart their strike.

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“The IPS agreed to remove the additional jamming devices in Rimon Prison and start reducing the number of jamming devices in other prisons,” Noor Isleem, the one of one of the prisoners, said.

“The IPS also agreed to allow prisoners from Gaza to communicate with their families via the public telephone five days a week and prisoners will choose the days which are appropriate for them.”

“Then, the prisoners, who were moved to isolation or relocated to other departments or prisons due to their participation in the hunger strike, will return to their statuses before the hunger strike.”

Isleem said that the IPS had also agreed to other demands, but gave no more details.

Rights groups say that there are more than 6,200 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, including 250 children, 38 women, 800 patients and around 400 who are being held under administrative detention.

The hunger strikes had been ongoing for 120 days with prisoners claiming the signal jamming devices were causing them nausea and headaches.

READ: Israel holds Palestinian hunger strikers in solitary confinement