1,600 Palestinian prisoners to launch hunger strike Tuesday

Talks between Prison Service and prisoners protesting against incarceration conditions deadlocked; hunger-striker Khader Adnan to be released

Elior Levy|Published: 04.16.12 , 20:44

Some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel have vowed to stage a hunger strike on Tuesday, to protest against the conditions of their incarceration and the isolation of some prisoners.

Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who fasted for 66 days to protest being detained without charges, is expected to be released on Tuesday, which marks Palestinian Prisoners' Day.

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The Palestinian prisoners, who are also demanding that Israel end its administrative detention policy and allow visits from relatives who reside in Gaza, said the Israel Prison Service has been negotiating with them in an attempt to prevent the strike. However, they said, the talks have reached a dead-end.

The strike is set to be staged by prisoners from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and Fatah. Qadura Fares, the president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in Ramallah, told Ynet that only some Fatah prisoners are expected to join the protest due to internal disputes over the negotiations with the Prison Service.

The Fatah representatives are in favor of giving the Prison Service an opportunity to improve their conditions by May 1, while prisoners belonging to Hamas and other Palestinian factions have decided not to wait.

Issa Qaraqi, minister of prisoner affairs in the Palestinian Authority, said the prisoners are looking to send a message to the international community so that it would press Israel to "stop violating the prisoners' basic rights."

The Prison Service said, "On Palestinian Prisoners' Day some inmates send back their meals, and this will likely be the case this year as well. Some of them may continue with the hunger strike."

The prisoners drew inspiration from Adnan and Hana Shalabi, also of Islamic Jihad, who ended her 43-day hunger strike as part of a deal which saw her expelled to the Gaza Strip.