Hamas demands release of hunger-striking prisoners

Hamas calls for the immediate release of hunger-striking prisoners held by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Gaza’s former Hamas premier Ismail Haniyeh appeals for the release of Khadar Adnan, who was imprisoned without trial by Israel and has been refusing food for about 40 days.

He also calls for the release of Islam Hamad, who has been held by Hamas’s rival in the West Bank and has been reportedly on hunger strike for 63 days.

Adnan is being held in “administrative detention”, a procedure under which Israel holds Palestinian prisoners indefinitely for renewable six-month periods.

Haniyeh says Israel “arrests and kills our sons and our brothers, while our brothers [Palestinian Authority] use the same means.”

— AFP