Palestinian prisoners end hunger strike in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel (Kurdistan24) – Several hundred Palestinian prisoners on Saturday ended a 40-day hunger strike protesting poor conditions in Israeli jails, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Nearly 1,100 inmates participated in one of the largest such hunger strikes, which began on April 17.

Protests in support for the hunger strikers increased tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and resulted in clashes in the West Bank.

Over 800 inmates ended their strikes following discussions with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Authority regarding the improvement of prison conditions, Reuters reported.

Additionally, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein on Wednesday pressed Israel to provide better conditions for inmates.

The details of the revised agreement have not been revealed by the Israeli Prison Service or the Palestinian Authority, according to Reuters.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club Qadoura Fares explained that discussions regarding prison conditions would continue.

“Issues that have been agreed upon are the improving of visits and prison conditions,” Fares said.

The Israeli Prison Service revealed one of the agreements was the reinstatement of a second monthly family visit, which had previously been cut.

The strike was initiated by imprisoned Fatah party leader Marwan Barghouti, serving five life terms for his involvement in the murder of Israelis.

“I have been both a witness to and a victim of Israel’s illegal system of arbitrary mass arrests and the ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners,” he wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

Barghouti was criticized by Israeli officials for starting the hunger strike to garner political support.

Hunger strikes are not uncommon in Israeli jails which hold 6,500 Palestinians inmates, some held without charges or a trial.

Editing by G. H. Renaud