Erdan says 300 Palestinian inmates end hunger strike

Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan says that 300 Palestinians have agreed to end an almost two-week-old hunger strike launched in protest at the conditions of their detention.

The Palestinians, for their part, said 1,500 prisoners were keeping up their fast in Israeli jails.

Three-hundred hunger strikers have “agreed to take food without having obtained” any of their demands, Erdan tells army radio.

“Negotiations are out of the question,” he says, adding that 920 Palestinian prisoners remained on hunger strike.

Erdan adds the prison service plans to set up four medical centers inside jails “to avoid as much as possible the transfer of hunger striking detainees to civilian hospitals”.

The hunger strike began on April 17, with those taking part ingesting only water and salt. They have issued demands ranging from better medical care to phone access.

— AFP