Ramallah: Dozens of Palestinian prisoners have been transferred to hospital after their health deteriorated due to a hunger strike, the Palestinian prisoners’ committee said on Wednesday.
Sixty prisoners were transferred on Wednesday alone, the committee said, while dozens have been transferred over the past few days, no specific number was given.
The health situation for some of the 1,000 prisoners who have been on hunger strike against the conditions in Israeli jails for more than a month has become dire, the committee said, quoting their lawyers.
The Israel Prison Service did not give an initial comment on Wednesday’s report. Israeli authorities have imposed a blackout regarding the hunger strikers at Hadarim prison, said Hanan al-Khatib, a lawyer, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners declared an indefinite hunger strike on April 17 to protest grievances including medical negligence, administrative detention, and limited family visits.
Dozens of Palestinians across the West Bank were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces while rallying in support of the prisoners on Monday, the same day US President Donald Trump was in the region.
Israel passed a highly controversial law in July that allows prison authorities to request court permission to force-feed a prisoner. The law has been vehemently condemned by doctors and human rights groups.
AG/IINA