On Wednesday, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced that the prisoners of the Islamic Jihad movement, about 400, have started a mass hunger strike.

In a statement, the Prisoners Club confirmed that the strike comes in protest of the occupation prison authority's punitive and abusive measures imposed on prisoners after 6 Palestinian prisoners liberated themselves from Gilboa prison last month.

The club added that the occupation forces targeted, through the current measures, the organizational structure of the Islamic Jihad, which is one of the most important achievements of the historical prisoners' movement.

The statement stressed that the hunger strike is part of “the resistance program announced recently by the prisoners’ National Emergency Committee, which was based mainly on rebellion and rejection of prison administration laws.”

General Mobilization

In this context, the Supreme Command Council for the prisoners of the Islamic Jihad movement in the Israeli occupation prisons announced on Wednesday a general mobilization.

The movement indicated that the hunger strike comes in light of the escalation of the punitive attacks on the prisoners' movement, especially after continuous rebellious acts for more than 40 days.

The statement warned that the strike will include for the first time refraining from water, subsidies, and medical examinations.

In detail, 100 vanguard jihadists will begin their hunger strike and then refrain from drinking water after one week.

Prisoners from Fatah, Hamas, and the Popular and Democratic Front will participate in the strike, indicated the statement.

There are about 4,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails, 35 of which are women and 200 are children.