Indian activists lend support to striking Palestinian prisoners

A group of activists on Tuesday expressed solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in Israel who are on a hunger strike since April 17.

The activists also demanded international pressure against Israel to improve the living condition and restoration of visitation rights for their families.

A group of activist under the banner of 'Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine' organised a solidarity meeting for Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike in Israel. As a mark of support to the protesting prisoners, they also drank water with salt.

On April 17, more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners launched a hunger strike to protest severe living conditions in Israeli prisons and violation of their human rights.

"Since the declaration of the strike, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) has taken various punitive actions against the hunger strikers, including placing prisoners in solitary confinement and preventing them from meeting with lawyers," the Embassy of Palestine said in a statement.

"They denied their family to visit them. They denied them medical treatment. They don't allow them to be in touch with media or any connection on phone with their families.. It's a humanitarian demand. Israel, for 37 days, is refusing even to negotiate," Adnan Abu Alhaijaa, Ambassador of Palestine to India, said on the sidelines of the solidarity meeting.

"The international organisation should intervene," he said.

"We do not see any real pressure from international community, Red Crescent and international organisation... What we are seeing today is that the people of India are in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners," he said.

"We treat them as our heroes...This is one of our peaceful resistances... the hunger strike shows how we are connected to this land and we are not giving up our rights," Yasser Dahlan, First Secretary in the Embassy of Palestine, told IANS on the sidelines of the meeting.

Israel will not change its policy until there is international pressure, he added.

The Palestinian embassy demanded access to medical care, end to the solitary confinements, force feeding and administrative detention for the prisoners.

--IANS

rs/pgh/vt