| Date: 12/05/2012 Time: 10:59:00 PM |
The Palestinian Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies
and Human Rights cautioned Saturday against over-optimism about Israel's
responding to demands of the open-ended hunger strike being observed by
thousands of Palestinian prisoners for the 26th day running.
Speaking to KUNA here, director of the center Fuad Al-Khofsh said: "We are
against over-optimism since nobody can guarantee the responses of Israel
Prison Service (IPS)."
"No talks have been conducted by the leaders of the hunger strike with the
IPS since Thursday," he said, noting that the no such talks could be held on
today, the weekend of the Jewish country.
"The leaders of the strike sent a statement to Ahrar Center to affirm that
they have the exclusive right to declare an end to the strike staged in
protest against the malpractices of the IPS against the Palestinian prisoners,
" Al-Khofsh pointed out.
He was commenting on the upbeat about the mediation efforts being made by
Egypt to end the ordeal of the prisoners.
Earlier today, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Government in Gaza Ismail
Haniyeh and Minister of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs in the Palestinian
Government in the West Bank Issa Qaraqe said that the mediation has made a
breakthrough.
Under the prisoner swap deal, signed with Hamas in October, 2011, the
Israeli occupation authorities promised to end all the abuses against the
Palestinian prisoners including the solitary confinement and the ban on visits
to detainees by their relatives.
However, they broke their promises and went farther by exacerbating the
punitive measures against the prisoners in the last few months, thus prompting
more than 2,000 prisoners to stage the strike since April 17 in protest
against the arbitrary detention and other forms of maltreatment.
Other detainees who been on the hunger strike as early as 74 days ago
suffer life-threatening health conditions and disorders; they even refuse to
take medications for thalassaemia. |