Haniyeh claims progress in Israeli-Egyptian negotiations over hunger strikers
Senior Hamas official says there is an ‘important development’ regarding the demands of Palestinian prisoners
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday that there is progress in the talks between Israel and Egypt regarding Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons.
Gaza-based Haniyeh, who serves as one of two disputed prime ministers of the bifurcated Palestinian Authority, claimed in a statement that “there is an important development on the issue of prisoner demands.”
More than 1,600 Palestinian prisoners have now joined a hunger strike that began en masse April 17. Six of the hunger strikers are believed to be in life-threatening condition. Two of them, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, are in the 74th day of their hunger strikes; the other four prisoners have fasted for about 40 days.
The hunger strikers are protesting for more rights in Israeli prisons. Specifically, they are also targeting Israel’s practice of administrative detention, by which it holds and extends the incarceration of Palestinian prisoners — without formally charging them. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that Israel should charge or release those being held in administrative detention.
Approximately 12,000 people rallied in support of Palestinian hunger strikers in Kafr Kanna, outside Nazareth, Friday evening. The demonstration was organized by the Islamic Movement in Israel, a group that promotes Islam among Israeli Arabs and was originally associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that it was “extremely concerned” for the well being of the Palestinian prisoners. “WHO calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure immediate and adequate access to appropriate ongoing health care for the hunger strikers,” the organization said in a statement from its Jerusalem office.
