WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Thirteen Palestinian prisoners detained in prisons run by the Zionist regime initiated an open-ended hunger strike to protest against their so-called administrative detention and the repressive measures of the regime.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) issued a statement, disclosing that six detainees in “Rimon” prison began their hunger strike. The participants include Hadi Nazzal, Mohammed Zakarnah, Anas Kumeil, Abdu-Rahman Barraqah, Mohammed Ikhmeis, and Zuhdi Ibeido – all from Qabatiya, located in the Jenin Governorate. They have been held since May of the previous year.
The prisoners Saif Hamdan, Saleh Rabayaa, Qusai Khudair, and Osama Khalil continue their hunger strike for 14 days. Kayed al-Fasfous and Sultan Khalouf have been on strike for ten days, and Osama Dqroq has been on strike for six days.
The occupying regime currently holds hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under its ‘administrative detention’ policy, which involves imprisonment without trial or charge. The detainees can be held without charge for up to six months, with the possibility of indefinite extensions.
Concurrently, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs has urged the international community to address the Zionist regime’s practice of administrative detention’.
This hunger strike coincides with similar actions taken by ‘administrative detainees’ in “Ofer” and other prisons. Palestinian prisoners have been protesting against the restrictions imposed by Zionist regime authorities, with over 500 inmates refusing to attend their military court hearings this year. The boycott encompasses hearings for the renewal of administrative detention orders, appeal hearings, and later sessions at the regime’s supreme court.
The occupying regime holds thousands of Palestinians in its jails, prompting criticism from human rights organizations that say it violates the rights and freedoms guaranteed to prisoners by the Geneva Convention. Detainees’ right to due process is breached by administrative detention, as evidence is withheld, and individuals are held for extended periods without charges, trials, or convictions.
Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express outrage at the detentions. Israeli jail authorities keep Palestinian prisoners under deplorable conditions without proper hygienic standards. Palestinian inmates have also been subject to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.