Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike Ends After 40 Days

By teleSUR

27 May 17

 

Over 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners launched the strike “For Freedom and Dignity” 40 days ago, to protest the inhumane conditions of Israeli prisons.

he Israeli Prisons Service announced Saturday that hundreds of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails ended a 40-day hunger strike, Reuters reported.

The inmates ended the strike that began on April 17 after talks held with the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority concluded in an agreement to change some of the prisoners' conditions, the Prison Service Statement said.

According to Prison Service spokeswoman Nicole Englander, a compromise was reached, including a provision allowing for a second family visit per month, the Independent reported.

However, the full details of the compromise have not yet been disclosed.

Over 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners launched the strike “For Freedom and Dignity” 40 days ago, to protest the inhumane conditions of Israeli prisons.

In addition to bringing international attention to the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land by Israeli settlers, their demands included better access to medical treatment, bimonthly family visits, air conditioning, access to educational materials, an end to internationally illegal solitary confinement practices, and the eradication of torture and extended detention practices.

After 40 days in, the prisoner's health was deteriorating rapidly, with 182 striking political prisoners having been hospitalized. Thursday, visting doctors from the ICRC expressed concern over their condition, remarking that for a number of protestors the damage to their health may be irreversable.

The strike has been met with solidarity demonstrations throughout occupied Palestine, and around the world. According to opinion polls, strike leader Marwan Barghouti has a good chance of running in the next president election, depite his five life sentences.

"This was one of the widest and longest Palestinian hunger strikes in history of the prisoners\ movement and it ws for basic demands," Al Jazeera, an employee of the Palestian foreign ministry, remarked to Al Jazeera reporters.

The end of the strike coincides with the beginning of Ramadan, which begins Saturday.