Sunday Deadline for Palestinian Prisoners’ Demands or Start of Mass Hunger Strike

Unless demands by Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are met by Sunday, a mass hunger strike will begin incrementally according to The Palestinian Prisoners and Former Prisoners’ Affairs Committee. The planning includes the immediate participation in the strike of 1,400 prisoners followed by additional groups of strikers on April 17 and May 1. The reason for the strike is the installation of jamming devices in the jails after the illegal use of cellphones smuggled to prisoners became an issue. Prisoners are complaining that the devices cause dizziness, headaches and could be a cause for cancer. They also insist that television and radio reception is interrupted by the jammers and on that basis, too, demand that the devices be removed. The committee is also demanding an end to punitive measures imposed on some prisoners. Palestinians stage a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Eastern Jerusalem on March 26, 2019. (Photo: Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)