Thousands of Palestinian detainees are preparing to stage a one-day hunger strike on Monday, protesting against the repressive policies of the Zionist regime and demanding the immediate release of a sick Palestinian inmate.
The Supreme Emergency Committee for the Palestinian Prisoner Movement announced the hunger strike in a statement released on Sunday. The strike aims to exert pressure on the Zionist authorities, with a particular focus on securing the release of long-time Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa.
Walid Daqqa, a writer and activist, has been imprisoned by the occupying regime since 1986 for his resistance against the occupation. Last year, he was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare form of bone marrow cancer that disrupts the body's blood cell production. His deteriorating health condition led to a stroke in February, necessitating his transfer to a hospital. Daqqa is among the most prominent Palestinian prisoners held by 'Israel.'
The hunger strike also seeks to condemn the Zionist regime's practices of solitary confinement and administrative detention. Administrative detention allows the occupying regime to imprison Palestinians indefinitely without charges or trial, a policy considered inhumane.
The committee further stated that the protest aims to demand an end to the solitary confinement of three leaders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
A recent report by Palestinian rights advocacy groups highlighted that 'Israel' currently holds approximately 4,900 Palestinian inmates, including women and children, in its prisons. The report, released on Palestinian Prisoner's Day, revealed that there are 31 Palestinian women and 160 children under the age of 18 among the detainees. It also exposed the 'Israeli' authorities' use of abusive methods, such as deplorable living conditions, lack of proper hygiene, systematic torture, harassment, and repression, to undermine the prisoners' resolve to fight for their rights.