Palestinian Prisoners Stage Hunger Strike as Hamas Warns Occupation Will ’Pay Price’

Thirty-two prisoners at the Ofer Prison have begun an open-ended hunger strike in solidarity with a striking inmate, as Hamas warned that the Resistance was fully ready to retaliate for Israeli attacks on Palestinian prisoners at Eshel Prison.

The prisoners went on the hunger strike in solidarity with Maher Al-Akhras whom the Israeli Supreme Court refused to release on Monday.

Al-Akhras has been hospitalized at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. He has been on hunger strike for nearly 80 days in protest against Israeli occupation’s administrative detention policy, which allows Tel Aviv to hold Palestinians without charge.

Israeli prison service said on Tuesday it punished dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

“The prisoners were transferred to isolation and placed in empty cells without any equipment,” the service said in a statement.

Earlier, Hamas issued a statement late on Monday, in which it said the Israeli occupation bears full responsibility for the ‘savage attack’ on Palestinian prisoners at Eshel Prison including Resistance figures Jamal Abu Al-Haija and Hasan Salama.

“The Resistance is fully ready to retaliated for the Israeli aggression against the prisoners,” Hamas said.

The attack at Eshel Prison and the continuous negligence in dealing with the deteriorating health of Palestinian prisoner Maher Al-Akhras is a “crime that the Israeli occupation will pay price for.”

Source: Agencies