Thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails have begun a mass hunger strike against detention conditions. The protest is being led by Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the mainstream Fatah movement of the Palestine Liberation Organization, jailed by Israel for life for five murders.
Israel said, the move by the prisoners, many of whom were convicted of attacks or planning attacks against Israel, was politically motivated.
Palestinians termed the open-ended strike a protest against poor conditions and an Israeli policy of detention without trial that has been applied against thousands since the 1980s. According to Palestinian prisoners’ groups, there were about 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
