The
hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest of such protests for 50 years
Hundreds of hunger-striking
Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on Saturday after reaching a
compromise with Israel for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian
officials said.
Israeli prison service
spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike
on Saturday morning. She said it came after Israel reached a deal with the
Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second
family visit each per month.
Hundreds of prisoners observed
the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved
into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since
Israel’s 1967 capture of territories that Palestinian’s seek for their
state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Englander said 1,578 prisoners
participated in the hunger strike overall and 834 ended their fast on Saturday.
She added that 18 prisoners were being treated in hospitals.
Many Israelis view the prisoners
as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000
Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and
attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Palestinians rallied behind the
hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions
between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas, which
runs Gaza and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West
Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a
seemingly distracted international community as the Israeli occupation hits the
50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an
emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been
jailed by Israel at one time or another since 1967.
Israel’s public security
minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power
struggle in Abbas' Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organiser
Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing
in Fatah and secure his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghouti's
family has denied such claims.
Qadoura Fares, who runs the
Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group, said negotiations took place
between Israel officials and a committee from the prisoners, including Marwan
Barghouti. He said negotiations began on Friday and were the first since the
strike began.
Mr Barghouti is serving five life
terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting
attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he never
mounted a defence, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.
Earlier this month, Israel
released footage it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast. Palestinians
say the video is a fabrication.
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