Palestinian factions call for escalation of Jerusalem Intifad

The Palestinian factions and forces called on Sunday for escalating the Jerusalem Intifada in all occupied cities on 17th April which marks the Palestinian Prisoner Day after the Israeli occupation reneged on the demands won by the Palestinian prisoners following the Karama (Dignity) hunger strike in 2012.

An Islamic Jihad leader, Daud Shihab, said in a protest organized by al-Ahrar Movement on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners that his Movement will work to escalate the Intifada and popular action to support the steps taken by the prisoners against the Israeli occupation before and after the Prisoner Day.

Shihab affirmed that Israel has failed in breaking the will of the Palestinian people whether by assassinations or arrests, praising the role of martyr Mazen Fuqaha in the liberation project.

For his part, the leader in al-Ahrar Movement Yaser Khalaf stressed that armed resistance is the only way to liberate the Palestinian prisoners and avenge those who were killed inside Israeli jails.

During the protest that was organized in front of the Red Cross office in Gaza, Khalaf denounced the silence of the international institutions vis-à-vis the Israeli crimes and the suffering of 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, pointing out that the Red Cross has lost its main role in this regard.

Khalaf accused the Palestinian Authority of neglecting the prisoners’ suffering and asked it to activate their issue in all international forums and file indictments about the Israeli occupation’s crimes with international courts.

The director general of the Ministry of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Saber Abu Karsh said that more than 500 prisoners are serving long-term life sentences in Israeli jails, 29 of whom are from the Gaza Strip.

Abu Karsh stated that the prisoners will start protest steps including a general strike led by all Palestinian factions starting from the Palestinian Prisoner Day against the Israeli crimes committed against them.