Palestinian prisoners to stage hunger strike Thursday

RAMALLAH 

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails plan a one-day hunger strike on Thursday in solidarity with scores of "administrative detainees".

"The prisoners will stage a one-day strike to send a message of warning to the administration of Israeli prisons," the ministry of detainees said in a statement.

"They [the prisoners] will start an open-ended hunger strike in case the prison administration does not fulfill the demands of the administrative detainees," it added.

Around 120 administrative detainees have started an open-ended hunger strike since April 24 to protest Israel's detention policy, a rights lawyer said.

"Detainees refused food and declared a hunger strike," Jawab Boules, a lawyer with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners Club, told Anadolu Agency earlier.

"Some administrative prisoners have been in jail for years without trial," Boules said. "Prisons have become like their homes."

Administrative detention is an Israeli policy under which Palestinians are held without trial, usually for security reasons.

An administrative detention order ranges from one to 6 months and can be extended till up to five years by an Israeli military court.

By Qais Abu Samra

englishnews@aa.com.tr