Official: 1,600 prisoners to go on hunger strike
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By News report
Ma'an News Agency
Monday, Apr 16, 2012
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Over 1,600 detainees in Israeli jails are due to
begin a hunger-strike on April 17, a Palestinian Authority official said
Saturday.
Issa Qaraqe, the PA prisoners affairs minister, added
that factional division among the strikers is dangerous and called on
detainees with different political allegiances to unite.
There
was reportedly a disagreement between imprisoned Fatah and Hamas members
as to which date would be best to carry out the strike action.
Some
Fatah officials believe beginning strike action on the same date as
Palestinian Prisoners Day may weaken the prisoners position in
negotiations with Israeli authorities.
Prisoner society chief
Qadura Fares played down political division among prisoners, labeling
any disagreement a matter of different points of view.
Mohammad
al-Qatari, an official in the Prisoners Ministry in Gaza, suggested that
strike action be postponed until May 10 in case negotiations with
Israeli prison authorities proved to be negative.
Palestinian Prisoners Day is commemorated on April 17.
A
series of high-profile hunger strikes have drawn international
attention to Israel's policy of detaining Palestinians without charge,
which has been applied to thousands of Palestinians since 1967.
Around 300 Palestinians are currently held in administrative detention in Israel, including around 20 MPs.
Source: maannews.net
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