| Date: 06/05/2012 Time: 11:26:00 PM |
Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip organized a mass
rally here on Sunday to show solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners who
went on a mass hunger strike at the Israeli jails more than two months ago.
The demonstrators, led by the local faction leaders, toured the streets of
Gaza City before gathering at the Unknown Soldier Sq., downtown the city.
They chanted anti-Israel slogans, hoisting the flags of Palestine and
Fatah, and raising the photos of the prisoners who fight "the battle of empty
stomachs" against the Israeli occupation authorities, according to the
protesters.
Addressing the gathering, Yazid Al-Huwaihi, secretary of the higher
committee of Fatah movement in Gaza Strip, paid tribute to the prisoners for
their valiant struggle for the dignity and liberation of the Palestinian
people.
"Fatah will spare no effort in showing solidarity with those prisoners and
will continue struggle for their release," he vowed.
Al-Huwaihi called for mending the rifts among the Palestinian factions and
cementing the national unity in order to ensure freedom for all prisoners and
make their cause known for the international public opinion.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Al-Hindi, a leading member of the Islamic Jihad
Movement, warned that lives of the hunger striking prisoners are in jeopardy
since the strike entered its 67th day running while the Israeli authorities
turn deaf ears to their blight.
"The fall of any martyr in the battle of empty stomachs will ignite a third
uprising against the Zionist enemy; in such a case we'll give a severe lesson
to the enemy in retaliation for the prisoners," Al-Hindi pledged.
He urged all the Palestinian factions to join forces in support of the
prisoners and deem their cause a national one, voicing hope that this question
will pave the way for unifying the ranks of the Palestinian people. |