WAFA Palestine News & Information agency.com (Palestine) : "Palestinians continue solidarity marches on 40th day of hunger strike "

Publish Date: 2017/05/26

Palestinians continue solidarity marches on 40th day of hunger strike

RAMALLAH, May 26, 2017 (WAFA) – As around 1,300 Palestinian prisoners Friday entered a very critical phase on the 40^th day of their hunger strike in Israeli jails, Palestinians made calls to continue solidarity marches and sit-ins across the West Bank.

The Media Committee of the Freedom and Dignity Strike called on Palestinians to organize solidarity marches and to crowd in sit-in tents in various West Bank districts before heading to seam zones.

Some 1,300 out of 6,500 Palestinians held by Israel launched a mass indefinite hunger strike on April 17, only consuming salt and water during the strike, without additives or supplements, to pressure Israel to improve their prison conditions.

Initially called for by Fatah-affiliated prisoners, most notably imprisoned senior Fatah official Marwan Barghouthi, the strike has been joined by other prisoners from various Palestinian political factions.

The hunger strikers' demands are basic and can hardly be described as political.
They include reinstating bimonthly family visits, better medical treatment, and the right to education.

Hunger strikers are also calling for an end to Israel’s widely-condemned policy of "administrative detention", which allows the imprisonment of individuals on "secret evidence" for without trial or charge for six-month intervals that can be renewed indefinitely.

On 39^th day of hunger strike, head of the Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe warned the health conditions of hunger strikers have become “very critical” and expressed concerns over possible deaths of hunger strikers.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also reportedly called on all concerned parties and authorities to find a solution that would avoid any loss of life or “irreversible damage” to the hunger strikers’ health.

“Six weeks into the hunger strike, we are concerned about potentially irreversible health consequences. From a medical perspective, we are entering a critical phase,” ICRC said.

President Mahmoud Abbas described the issue as “difficult and sensitive” and has asked the US envoy Jason Greenblatt to intervene to safeguard the rights of prisoners and achieve their humanitarian demands.

K.F.

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