Israeli troops arrest 6 Islamic Jihad Movement chiefs

Israeli troops have arrested up to six leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian authorities said on Sunday. The men were arrested after Israeli forces stormed their homes amid a series of protests in the West Bank against the alleged inadequate medical care Palestinian prisoners are recieving in Israeli prisons after the death of one of them due to cancer. Yesterday, Israeli prison guards stormed Ramon Prison and carried out an attack on inmates there protesting the prisoner's death. Palestinian authorities blame Israel for stalling over giving Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh, who died of throat cancer, the right to be treated following a late cancer diagnosis. Abu Hamdiyeh was the second Palestinian to die in prison this year. Arafat Jaradat died under unknown circumstances after being interrogated in February. Palestinian officials say he had been tortured, but Israel denies these claims and has not adequately explained Jaradat's cause of death. According the Ramallah-based Prisoner's Club, Israel has confessed to the presence of some 25 Palestinians suffering from cancer in its jails.