Palestinian Prisoners Protest in Support of Hunger Strikers

Some 40 Palestinian prisoners began a hunger strike in Israeli prisons in solidarity with two compatriots whose health deteriorated as a result of the hunger strike they are carrying out themselves in demand of their release, the national press reported.

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According to the Al Quds news agency, a group of Islamic Jihad members started the protest last night, and another 75 from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are expected to follow tomorrow.

The PFLP announced in a statement that this will be the beginning of a campaign in support of Raed Rayyan, who has remained on hunger strike for more than 100 days, and Khalil Awawdeh, who resumed his after the broken promise to release him from the Israeli authorities.

Awawdeh, a father of four, spent 111 days on hunger strike before ending the measure in June after reaching an agreement with Tel Aviv officials.

Both prisoners are being held in so-called administrative detention, used by Israel to arrest Palestinians for renewable intervals that typically range from three to six months on the basis of undisclosed evidence that even the defendant’s lawyer is barred from seeing.

Numerous detainees under this rule systematically go on hunger strikes for an indefinite period of time to denounce their cases and force the Israeli authorities to release them.

Palestinians and human rights groups charge that administrative detention violates due process of law because it allows for evidence against prisoners to be withheld while they are detained for long periods without being charged, tried or sentenced.