RAMALLAH

Dozens of Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Ashkelon prison staged an open-ended hunger strike on Sunday to demand an improvement in their conditions, according to a Palestinian NGO. 

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said the hunger strike comes in protest of the prison administration's rejection to meet the detainees' demands regarding the right of exposure to sunlight, ending night-time cell raids and easing visit conditions for their families.

In April, hundreds of Palestinian detainees staged a hunger-strike for specific demands from the Israeli prison service.

Along with better living conditions and more family visits, hunger strikers then demanded the removal of cellphone-signal jammers from inside Israeli detention facilities and the installation of public telephones.

The prison service fulfilled some of their demands after which the prisoners halted their strike.

According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority's Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, the total number of Palestinians in Israeli custody currently stands at 5,700 -- including numerous women and children.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat