Palestinian detainees escalate protest against Israeli prison policies

Palestinian detainees on Sunday escalated their protest against Israeli prison policies by disbanding their representative committee.

“Abolishing the committee means that there is no representative or spokesman for the prisoners to speak with the prison authorities,” Qadri Abu Baker, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)-run Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the move is “very troubling” to the prison authorities as they will now have to speak with each prisoner.

“The detainees will launch a hunger strike if the prison authorities continue to ignore their demands,” Abu Baker said.

He said the detainees demand an end to the solitary confinement of dozens of prisoners and allowing phones to jailed women and minors.

According to Palestinian figures, there are nearly 4,550 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including 175 minors and 31 female detainees, along with around 700 detainees held under the Israeli policy of administrative detention without charge or trial.

For years, Palestinians jailed by Israel have used hunger strike to demand better living conditions and an end to indefinite detentions.