Prisoners of Section 11 of the Nafha Prison in the Negev desert town of Mitzpe Ramon have stopped eating their food portions to denounce harsh conditions in Tel Aviv’s prisons, Lebanon’s al-Ahed news website reported.
Over 1,500 prisoners from all Palestinian political factions are taking part in an open-ended hunger strike to denounce harsh prison conditions and restrictions on family visits.
The long-planned mass strike, which is led by a jailed leader of the Fatah Movement, Marwan Barghouti, began on April 17.
Hunger striking as a method for pressuring the Tel Aviv regime has become increasingly prevalent among Palestinian prisoners in recent years. In 2012, approximately 1,500 Palestinian prisoners launched a similar hunger strike for close to a month before managing to obtain their rights.
And, in 2014, 800 prisoners staged a strike against administrative detention for 63 days before a reaching a deal with the Israeli prison authorities and deciding to end their strike.