Hunger strikers in Israeli jails decide to stop drinking water

Source : http://palestine-info.co.uk

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, NABLUS, (PIC)-- The hunger striking prisoner, Jafar Ezzedine, threatened that the hunger striking prisoners decided to escalate their steps, by stopping drinking water starting from February 17, in order to pressure IPS to meet their demands.

Jafar told his lawyer Fadi Obeidat that the prison administration has been deliberately pressuring the captives through the repeated searches of their rooms, in addition to the poor and difficult prison conditions.

He confirmed that he will continue his hunger strike until the achievement of his demands, his legitimate rights and his freedom.

Captive Tarek Qa'dan told the lawyer Obeidat that the IPS has been exercising psychological pressure on the prisoners and threatening them to use force against them in order to oblige them halt the strike.

Hundreds of families of prisoners and national and human rights institutions representatives in the city of Nablus participated on Monday in a march in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli occupation jails, especially those on hunger strike.

The march was called for by the National Committee to support the prisoners in Nablus with the participation of Women General Union, a number of ex-detainees and delegations representing Nablus Municipality, Palestinian factions, Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) and the Ministry of Prisoners Affairs.

The demonstrators roamed the streets of Nablus chanting slogans that call for freeing the prisoners, and raising the hunger strikers' photos.

The captives' mothers called on the masses to support their sons and demanded the international community to press the Israeli government and force it to release all prisoners.

Raed Amer, director of the PPS and spokesman for the National Committee to support the prisoners, confirmed that events supporting the prisoners will continue and urged all the institutions to take part in these events.

Meanwhile, dozens of citizens staged today a sit-in in solidarity with Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails at Ibn Rushd Square in the center of al-Khalil, in the southern the West Bank.

Many national figures, MPs, families of prisoners and human rights organizations participated in the sit-in, called for by the PPS.

The protesters chanted slogans condemning the Israeli practices against the Palestinian detainees, including the repeated raids of their sections, the continued detention of the MPs and the policy of medical neglect.

Hundreds of school students in the city of Jenin have also staged a sit-in on Monday afternoon in solidarity with the prisoners on hunger strike.

For his part; the brother of the hunger striking captive Tarek Qa'dan called for supporting the striking prisoners until achieving their release and the end of the administrative detention file.