4 Palestinian prisoners in hunger strike in Israeli jails

Four Palestinian prisoners, including a journalist, have been on an open-ended hunger strike protesting against being kept in Israeli jails without trials, a Palestinian official report said Saturday.

One of the four has been on hunger strike for 40 days to exercise pressure on the Israeli prison authorities to allow his family to visit him, the Palestinian prisoners' corporation said in its report.

The three others went on a hunger strike in the first week of December, it added.

The detained journalist was identified as Mohamed al-Qeeq, from the southern West Bank city of Hebron. He was arrested on Nov. 25.

It said that the hunger striking prisoners are protesting the "bad treatment of the Israeli prisons authorities and being deprived of their simple human rights."

Meanwhile, Chairman of the corporation Eassa Qaraqe'a condemned the current Israeli policy of administrative detention of Palestinians, who are being held without trials or charges.

"In the recent months, Israel escalated its measures against the Palestinians, mainly prisoners," he said.

As many as 520 Palestinians are under administrative detention in Israeli jails, including three children and three women, he added.

Qaraqe'a accused Israel of violating the international law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions by adopting and implementing the policy of administrative detention.

"Israel deprives the Palestinian prisoners from their simplest rights," he said, adding that "the prisoners are deprived of receiving proper medication and being allowed to see their families and their lawyers." Endit