Suomen HALLITUKSEN pyydettävä anteeksi Israelilta!

Israel punishes Palestinian hunger-strikers
Published today (updated) 23/04/2012 20:30

Palestinian children take part in a rally in front of the Red Cross headquarters
in Gaza City marking Palestinian Prisoners Day, April 17, 2012.
(Reuters/Suhaib Salem)
By Jihan Abdalla

RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- Israel has taken measures against some 1,200 Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, denying them family visits and separating them from inmates not taking part in the protest, prison authorities said on Monday.

The open-ended strike, dubbed the "battle of empty stomachs" by organizers, began last Tuesday. The prisoners are demanding better jail conditions and for Israel to end detention without trial for Palestinians suspected of security offenses.

"Privileges such as family visits have been revoked and items such as electronics have been confiscated," Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Prisons Authority, said.

Palestinian prisoners have long complained of the difficulty of securing family visits and the invasive searches visiting relatives have to go through.

The striking prisoners have said they would drink only water and salt until their demands are met.

Amani Sarahna of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, an advocacy group for Palestinians jailed by Israel, said prison authorities had conducted extensive searches in hunger strikers' cells, taking away salt from those refusing to eat.

"All the prisoners' belongings were confiscated except their towels and their shoes," Sarahna said.