Arab League seeks UN probe on Israeli prisons amid Palestinian hunger strike

The Arab League on Thursday called on the United Nations to open an international inquiry into alleged “violations” against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisoners, as some inmates enter the third week of a mass hunger strike.

The pan-Arab body “invites the United Nations and its relevant specialized agencies to send an international commission of inquiry to Israeli prisons,” representatives said in a resolution adopted Thursday.

The commission would “view the violations being committed against the prisoners of war,” and press international actors to compel Israel to abide by the Geneva Convention.

Palestinian officials say some 1,500 security prisoners are participating in the hunger strike that began on April 17, with detainees ingesting only water and salt in protest of their conditions.

It is unclear how many have been on strike for the full period as some of the original participants have since pulled out while others appeared to have joined.

Israel Prison Service spokesman Assaf Librati said earlier this week that 870 prisoners are still refusing to eat. Israeli officials have said they will not negotiate with the prisoners.

The hunger strike was launched by convicted terrorist and popular Palestinian figure Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life terms for orchestrating deadly attacks.

Barghouti is popular among Palestinians, with polls suggesting he could win the Palestinian presidency. Many Israeli and Palestinian analysts have speculated that Barghouti organized the strike in a bid to boost his declining power in Palestinian politics.

Over the past three weeks, support for the hunger strike has gained momentum, with West Bank marches, strikes, and backing on Palestinian social media.

Among the demands made by Barghouti and fellow prisoners are the resumption of a second monthly visit by family members (a benefit that was canceled by the International Committee of the Red Cross last year due to budget cuts), the prevention of family meetings being canceled for security reasons, extending the length of each visit from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and the restoration of academic studies and matriculation exams for prisoners. Other demands include more television channels being available in cells and the installation of public telephones in security wings.

The Arab League on Thursday called on all “relevant international institutions and bodies” to “intervene immediately and urgently to compel the Israeli government to apply international humanitarian law,” according to the resolution.

It “condemned the Israeli occupation authorities in their ongoing detention of thousands of Palestinian prisoners… including children, women, and political leaders and elected representatives.”

Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by Israel for a range of terror offenses and crimes. Around 500 are being held without trial or charges, a procedure Israel refers to as administrative detention.

Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, but rarely on such a scale.