Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners begin hunger strike
Palestinians hold photographs of prisoners jailed in Israel, during a rally marking the annual Prisoners' Day, in the West Bank city of Nablus, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The Israeli prison service said Tuesday hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have launched a hunger strike. / AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh
(AP) RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel launched a hunger strike on Tuesday, officials said, protesting their conditions and demanding an end to detentions without trial as the Palestinians marked their annual day of solidarity with the inmates.
Some 3,500 prisoners refused meals on "Prisoners' Day," and 1,200 of them said they would continue with an open-ended hunger strike, according to Israeli prison service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman.
The hunger strike is one of the largest on record, said Sahar Francis of Addameer, a prisoner rights group.
Although it remained unclear how many will continue with the protest, they join 10 other Palestinian prisoners already on hunger strike, including two who have been hospitalized after refusing food for more than 40 days, she said.
The days' activities, which included protests throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, coincided with the scheduled release of the longest hunger striker in Palestinian history.
Khader Adnan, who didn't eat for 66 days, was set to be freed later Tuesday as part of a deal reached with Israel.
Israel to free Palestinian hunger striker
Adnan, a spokesman of the violent Islamic Jihad group, called his strike to protest Israel's policy of "administrative detention," in which Palestinians can be sentenced to months or years behind bars by military courts without being charged. In February, Israel agreed to release him at the end of his detention in exchange for ending the hunger strike.
"He began the first step for the rest of the prisoners," said his wife, Randa, referring to Tuesday's hunger strike.
In his West Bank hometown of Arrabeh, well-wishers decked posters of Adnan on the streets, and the family prepared to slaughter a sheep in his honor.
The fate of the prisoners held by Israel is one of the most emotional issues in Palestinian society. Their crimes range from throwing stones to deadly militant attacks. They are generally seen as heroes — even when their crimes have involved killing Israeli civilians.
In demonstrations in the Palestinian areas, hundreds of people held framed pictures of their loved ones in prison and waved the flags of different Palestinian political factions.
At a military prison near Jerusalem, Palestinian youths hurled rocks at Israeli forces, who fired back rounds of tear gas and pellets. No injuries were reported.
There are some 4,000 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails, said Francis, including some 300 in administrative detention. The striking prisoners are demanding an end to such detentions, solitary confinement and to allow Gaza families to visit prisoners held in Israel.
The largest Palestinian prisoner strike was in 2004, when some 10,000 prisoners refused food, many of them for 17 days, Francis said.
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Speak out for human rights. Speak out for the Palestine people.
The Palestinians are required to go through tunnels to Egypt to get food, medical supplies, gas, etc..for the besieged city. On March a one year old girl died and her two year old sister was injured trying to get supplies. The Israeli government keeps these people contained like cattle and treat the Palestinian civilians like they are in a Nazi Concentration Camp!
Multi world peace groups are trying to bring attention to the Palestinian slaughters, containment, land stealing, and displacing many Palestinians as settlements continue for the Ultra-Fanatical-Orthodox-Jews who think everyone, especially the Palestinians are beneath them!
The USA even participated in the attempts to exterminate the Palestine people by providing Israel with white phosphorous/millions
of cluster bombs which during the last month of the Bush/Cheney administration were dropped, these cause horrific burns and death.
Amnesty International's investigation stated this act qualified as war crimes!
Are the Israelis blackmailing the USA politicians and military in order to support attempts at genocide of the Palestinians? Why else would the USA be providing weapons for crimes against humanity towards the Palestine people. Especially knowing the conditions they are living under. I thought the USA represented higher moral standards. The Israeli Lobby is too deep in the political system in the USA; An example of this:
Senator Forbes (R,VA); given $18,994.00 by the Ameriacan Jewish Educational Fund to travel to Israel to discuss "foreign policy".
This was a trip with a companion; 11/4/11-11/13/11 including spa expenses. This appears to be yet another special interest trip paid for by a special interest group to sway his vote by a foreign country!
Yet this behavior continues and Israel and the USA turn their noses up to the World Court's unanimous decisions and United Nation's resolutions of land line divisions that Israel took from Palestine.
see who profits from the settlement industry:
www.WhoProfits.org
These men are from families that have suffered horrific crimes against humanity. The death rates are extremely high in the Palestine population compared to the number of Israeli's killed.
So who is the true criminal in this picture of slaughter of the
Palestine people? People need to protest to let the world know what is going on in the Palestinian territory!
This is a great opportunity for the Israeli govenment to save money on food for prisoners. Just reduce the food orders and use the money in Israel for something worthwhile. The same would be true if prisoners in American prisons went on a hunger strike. If people choose to starve to death, who are we to stop them?
Israel is containing the people and when a protest occurs Israel arrests the Palestinian men!
Israel has the weapons and are similar to the Nazis just attack helpless civilians or people with minimal ways to protect themselves.