Palestinian Prisoners Win Gains Before Hunger Strike

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons decided on Thursday to cancel a scheduled hunger strike after reaching an agreement with the Israel Prison Services (IPS).

Qadri Abu-Bakr, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority’s Detainees Affairs Commission, hailed the move describing it as a victory for the Palestinian prisoners.

The Palestinian prisoners “were able to force the Israel Prison Services to achieve their demands concerning their daily life and healthcare needs, after the prisoners were scheduled to start an open-ended hunger strike to achieve these demands on March 25,” said Abu-Bakr in a statement.

“The steadfastness and unity of the [Palestinian] prisoner movement have taught the [Israeli] occupation a real lesson that a new reality and a new equation are in place, and that any abuse of any prisoner is an assault on the entire prisoner movement with all its factions,” he added.