13 Palestinians said wounded in clashes with Israeli forces over hunger strike
At least 5 reported hurt from live fire during riot outside of Ofer Prison, clashes also reported in Bethlehem
Israeli forces reportedly used live fire to disperse protests outside the Ofer Prison in the West Bank on Monday, wounding at least five people, while seven others were hurt in a series of demonstrations in support of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners.
At the Ofer Prison near Ramallah a total of 11 protesters were injured, including the five by live fire, Israel’s Channel 10 reported.
Two other Palestinians were also reportedly injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem, according to Channel 2. Their condition was not immediately clear.
A violent demonstration also took place in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to Channel 10. There were no immediate reports of injuries there.
Elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday, thousands of Palestinians participated in rallies showing solidarity with the prisoners, including in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday called on the international community to “intervene quickly to save the lives” of the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who earlier in the day launched a mass hunger strike to protest their conditions of imprisonment.
At a rally marking the annual Palestinian “Prisoner’s Day” in the West Bank, Abbas sent his support to the hunger-strikers and said Israel was being “stubborn” for refusing to “accept the just humanitarian demands of the prisoners.”
According to the Ynet news website, Abbas made no mention of the strike’s initiator and leader Marwan Barghouti.
Some Palestinian officials have attributed Barghouti’s call for the strike to an attempt to send a message to the Fatah leadership and Abbas, who excluded Barghouti’s people from a recent Central Committee meeting and didn’t give Barghouti the position of deputy chair to the PA.
Among the demands from Barghouti and the prisoners are the resumption of a second monthly visit by family members (a benefit that was cancelled by the International Committee of the Red Cross due to budget cuts), the prevention of family meetings being cancelled for security reasons, and the restoration of academic studies and matriculation exams to prisoners. Other demands include more television channels being available in cells and cell phones in security wings.
Palestinian officials said 1,300 Palestinians launched the mass hunger strike to protest the conditions in Israeli prisons. Israeli prison service spokesman Assaf Librati put the number at around 1,100.
Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences for his role in murderous terror attacks during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. He is a popular figure among Palestinians, with polls suggesting he could win the vote for president of the Palestinian Authority.
The Times of Israel Community.