Hunger strike leader falls sick

RAMALLAH: Imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi, who has been leading a hunger strike in Israeli prisons, suffered a serious deterioration in his health on Monday after going without food for eight days.

Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs chairman Issa Qaraqe said Barghouthi was suffering from a severe drop in blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

The media committee covering the “Freedom and Dignity Strike”, created jointly by the Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Prisoner’s Society, said Barghouthi had refused to take medicine from Israel Prison Service authorities in al-Jalama prison.