Minister calls on UN to meet over prisoners

PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe called on Sunday for the UN to hold an urgent meeting on the situation of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Around 2,000 prisoners are currently refusing food in Israeli jails to protest prison policies -- including solitary confinement and banning relative visits, according to estimates by prisoners groups. "We must move fast, both politically and legally," the minister said at a Ramallah press conference, stressing the difficult conditions inside Israeli prisons. Separately, a lawyer for the Prisoners Society said Sunday he was concerned about the health of long-term hunger-striker Bilal Diab. Jawa Bulus said Diab fainted during his visit to see him in Ramla jail, and when he regained consciousness he was unable to speak. Diab, 27, has been on hunger-strike since Feb. 29. An Israeli court rejected an appeal against his administrative detention last week.