Palestinian prisoners begin open hunger strike

Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails Wednesday began an open hunger strike against the Israeli Prisons Administration’s punitive measures against them, said Minister of Prisoners, Issa Qaraqe. The prisoners are demanding not to have to go through humiliating measures such as wearing the orange prison uniform, standing up during count and being forced to abide by the daily prison administration’s instructions, noted Qaraqe. He added that prisoners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) started their open hunger strike Tuesday, demanding to end the solitary confinement of the Front’s Secretary-General, Ahmad Saadat, who has been in an isolation cell for three years. PFLP prisoners also demanded the ending of solitary confinement of 20 other prisoners, victims of the Israeli “slow death” policy as some of them have spent more than 10 years in Israeli isolation cells. Prisoners in Rimon and Nafha Israeli prisons joined the hunger strike after a failed meeting with the Israeli Defense Minister, who stated that Palestinian prisoners have no rights in Israeli prisons, said Qaraqe. He added that in the remaining Israeli jails, prisoners have begun the first phase of the hunger strike where they will be abstaining from food three days a week. Afterwards, they will continue with an open hunger strike if the Israeli administration does not respond to their demands. Qaraqe said the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners will take solidarity action with their demands, including a Palestinian boycott of the Israeli judicial system, stopping family visitations and conducting other popular movements of protest to raise awareness and rally support for Palestinian prisoners.