Prisoners at a ‘critical’ stage

THE SITUATION in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is at a critical juncture with the health of the hunger-striking Palestinian political prisoners continuing to deteriorate after more than 33 days of their strike.

Simultaneously, protests and violence have rocked the territory, leaving several Palestinians dead and dozens injured as they clashed with Israeli security forces and settlers.

The head of the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs, Issa Qaraqe, said all hunger- striking prisoners, whose numbers are estimated to be around 1 300, had been transferred to three Israeli prisons with field hospitals due to their proximity to Israeli hospitals.

Despite the Israeli authorities refusing to release information on the condition of the hunger-strikers, according to Israeli and Palestinian media reports a number of the hunger-strikers have been refusing water, while the rest are subsisting on salt water alone.

The leader of the strike, Marwan Barghouti, also threatened to stop drinking water unless the prisoners’ demands for improved prison conditions were met.

The hunger strikers are calling for an end to the denial of family visits, the right to pursue higher education, appropriate medical care and treatment, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention, among other demands for basic rights.

A media committee to support the strike warned that striking detainees had “entered a critical health condition” marked by vomiting, vision impairment, fainting, and weight loss of about 20kg.

“The next 48 hours are critical. The prisoners are very determined and prefer to die in dignity rather than continue to be imprisoned in inhumane conditions,” Shawan Jabarin, the director of the internationally- renowned Palestinian rights group Al Haq, based in Ramallah, said. – ANA

PICTURE: AP Israeli solders arrest a Palestinian protester during a demonstration in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails near the settlement of Shavei Shamron near the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday.