Detainee with longest sentence begins hunger-strike

Detainee Abdullah al-Barghouthi announced on Thursday that he will begin a hunger-strike in protest against solitary confinement. Al-Barghouti, former head of Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank, has been imprisoned since 2003 and was sentenced to 67 life sentences, the longest military sentence in Israel's history. His demands include an end to solitary confinement and allowing his family in Jordan to visit him in prison, he said via his lawyer. He will not suspend the hunger-strike until his demands are met. A series of high-profile hunger strikes have drawn international attention to Israel's policy of detaining Palestinians without charge, which has been applied to thousands of Palestinians since 1967. Around 300 Palestinians are currently held in administrative detention in Israel, including around 20 MPs.