Dozens of prisoners join Palestinian hunger-striking detainees

Around 80 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have staged a hunger strike in solidarity with their fellow inmates who have been on such a strike for over a month now, Press TV reported.

The prisoners from three different Israeli jails said they have joined the protest action to make their voices heard.

More than 120 Palestinian inmates have been on an open-ended strike since April 24 to protest Israel’s arbitrary “administrative detention.”

Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to imprison Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can, however, be renewed for an indefinite period of time.

On Saturday, hundreds of Palestinians held a demonstration in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in solidarity with the hunger strikers. Clashes erupted when Israeli forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Dozens of protesters were injured and several others arrested.

Palestinian human rights organization Addameer estimates that around 183 Palestinians are currently being held in administrative detention.

Over 800,000 Palestinians have been detained since 1967, with 5,224 currently being held in Israeli prisons, according to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).