Protest in West Bank in support of hunger striking prisoners

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Families of the hunger strikers gathered outside the International Committee of the Red Cross office in the city to voice their concerns over the health condition of the prisoners. The prisoners have been refusing food in protest at their treatment by the Israeli officials. “We are here to raise our voices to tell the world that our prisoners are refusing food for their rights. We are here in solidarity with the prisoners,” said Um Osama Bargouthi, wife of a hunger striker. Five of the hunger strikers have Jordanian citizenships, while the others hold identity card from the Palestinian Authority. Helmi al-A’raj, the director of the Center for Defense of Liberties, told us that the prisoners demand freedom. “They want their freedom. The Jordanian prisoners who are on hunger strike demand to be freed and to go back to Jordan. The Palestinian prisoners are refusing food in protest to the administrative detention policies. These policies are oppressive and contradictory to international law and international humanitarian law,” he said.Human rights experts have expressed concerns over the deteriorating health condition of the hunger-striking prisoners. Observers also warned of deliberate medical negligence by the Israeli Prison Services against the hunger striking prisoners as a way to stop their acts of disobedience. “Their health condition was declining at a quick pace, there is a real danger for their lives, a danger of death and this is the result of the Israeli policy of medical negligence,” al-A’raj also said. Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time./106