A protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners outside Ofer prison.
(Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills)
UPDATE: Ma’an reports that Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla have not yet decided whether to end their strike, which could impact the deal:
Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Ma’an that all prisoners must end the hunger strike within 72 hours, and not later refuse food, for the deal to hold.
Around 2,000 prisoners joined a mass hunger strike launched on April 17 to demand fair prison conditions, according to prisoners groups’ estimates.
Another group of prisoners held in administrative detention launched an earlier strike in protest at their detention without charge, including Bilal Diab, 27, and Thaer Halahla, 33, who have gone for 77 days without food.
Their lawyer Jamil Khatib told Ma’an that Diab and Halahla were informed of the deal earlier Monday. They were told the agreement includes their release at the end of their detention term but both refused to stop their strike unless they were immediately released, Khatib said.
On Monday evening, a relative of Halahla said the long-term hunger-strikers were still deciding on next steps. Prisoners society lawyer Jawad Bulous is heading to the prison hospitals to discuss the deal with hunger-strikers, minister Issa Qaraqe told reporters.
Original Post
The AP reports:
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners agreed Monday to end a weekslong hunger strike after winning concessions from Israel to improve their conditions, the two sides announced.
The deal ended a strike in which prisoners had gone without food for up to 77 days, leaving several prisoners in life-threatening condition. It was the longest strike ever staged by Palestinians in Israeli custody. . .
Among their demands: permission to receive family visits from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, an end to solitary confinement and a halt to an Israeli policy of “administrative detention,” under which suspected militants are held for months, and sometimes years, without being charged. Israel has defended the policy as a necessary security measure.
According to a Palestinian negotiator, Israel agreed to allow prisoners from both the West Bank and Gaza to receive family visits. The visits from Gaza were halted in 2006 after Hamas-linked militants in Gaza captured an Israeli soldier. After the soldier was released in a prisoner swap last October, the Palestinians said the ban should be lifted.
He said Israel also agreed to halt its punitive policy of placing prisoners in solitary confinement, would allow prisoners to make phone calls to relatives and permit prisoners to pursue academic studies.
He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
There was no word on any change to the administrative detentions.
The Shin Bet said in return, the prisoners pledged “to absolutely stop terror activity from inside Israeli jails.” It also said militant group’s commanders outside the jails made a commitment “to prevent terror activity.” It did not elaborate.
The BBC piece doesn’t mention the two prisoners that reached 75(?) days on hunger strike, but does mention “Many of the 4,500 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are suspected of being members of militant groups.”. Ain’t freedom of the press great?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18062016
Adam– you know better than to post media/news reports from the AP/Al Jazeera etc. Til now the Central Committee for the Hunger Strikes inside the jails has not published their statement. Reports are that Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh will continue their strike since IPS refused to release them immediately.
You have swallowed the media spin, and are spreading rumors on behalf of the occupation and Abbas. Shame.
Whew . . . a respite. Let’s hope these people in severe starvation status are not too far down the road and a full recovery is possible.
“prisoners pledged ‘to absolutely stop terror activity from inside Israeli jails.'”
Yeah, that’s going to happen. So 2 months from now, when they catch these prisoners plotting terrorist attacks through the lack of solitary confinement and ordering terrorist attacks through their family visits, then what? Does the deal fall apart and we’re back to hunger strikes? Or does the deal include the revocation of privileges for those activities?
”and a halt to an Israeli policy of “administrative detention,” under which suspected militants are held for months, and sometimes years, without being charged. Israel has defended the policy as a necessary security measure.”
How convenient it would be if we could put Israel firsters and Israel under indefinite ”administration detention” without charge as necessary for US and ME/world security.
Since the US has adopted or at least used Israeli practices as the example to pattern ours on I wonder if we will end up like the Israelis….to the point we consider all other-others as suspect and enemies including the Israelis themselves. I have thought about what all this could culminate in when looking at the European rise of right wing ethnic nationalist/seperatist the uber zios are in bed with. Both parties to that believe they are superior to other ethnics..the Ayrans believe they superior to non Aryans which includes the Jews, and the Zios believe that Jews are superior to Aryans…so even if they suceeded in this joint venture of reordering their countries or the world they would still have one final battle–getting rid of each other.