RAMALLAH: On Tuesday, some 800 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli lockup launched a one-day solidarity hunger strike in support of four long-term hunger strikers, Ma'an News Agency reports. On Monday and Tuesday demonstrations on behalf of the the hunger-striking prisoners took place across the occupied West Bank. According to a Facebook update by Addameer Prisoner Support Network, the participating prisoners are in Ayshel, Ramoun, and Nafha prisons. At least four Palestinian prisoners are presently on hunger strike. Samer Al-Issawi has reached his 211th day without food, according to several sources. Jafar Ezzedine and Tarek Qa'adan have both surpassed the 80 day mark. Ayman Sharawna, a former hunger striker who went almost six months without eating in 2012, has re-launched his hunger strike in response to Israel Prison Service having reneged on a promise to give him a trial date. The exact date which Sharawna restarted, however, is not clear. Sharawna's mother has also reportedly launched a solidarity hunger strike. All four men are being held in administrative detention, an archaic legal practice in which prisoners are held on “secret information" with neither charge nor trial. On Tuesday, large demonstrations drew the participation of hundreds in Ramallah and on the campus of Birzeit University, where a solidarity tent was set up. In Ramallah, a hundred strong march began in Al-Manara Square and weaved throughout the city's narrow corridors. Participation included political factions such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On Monday, demonstrations took place in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ramallah. Outside Bethlehem, hundreds of protesters blocked and shut down Street 60, a settler-only road in the West Bank. On Saturday, the European Union and Tony Blair both urged Israel to respect the human rights of the hunger striking prisoners. On Friday, hundreds of solidarity protesters clashed with Israeli military forces outside of Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah. Others set up solidarity tents in Al-Bireh, Ramallah's sister city. According to Addameer's latest statistics, 4,743 Palestinians are presently being held in prison. 178 of those were in administrative detention, an archaic procedure in which detainees are held with neither charge nor trial. 193 were children, 23 of which were under 16-years-old. 191 had Israeli citizenship. 12 were members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. In April 2012, following the successful individual hunger strikes of administrative detainees Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi, some 2,000 prisoners launched a mass hunger strike that forced IPS to cave into several of their demands. Due to several successes chalked up against Israel in recent years, hunger striking is seen as an effective form of nonviolent resistance. Additionally, it has proven to be one of the few issues capable of dividing the Palestinian political landscape, in which there is growing tension between the street and the Palestinian Authority. According to Addameer's latest quarterly report, from September 1 to January 15, “not one day passed without at least one prisoner on an individual hunger strike." BN
