Egypt is mediating negotiations between Israel and Palestinian officials in a
prospective deal to end a mass hunger strike by Palestinians in Israeli prisons,
PA Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said on Saturday.
A
comprehensive deal to end the hunger strike, which some 1,600 prisoners are
participating in, is being discussed by the parties, Qaraqe told Palestinian
news agency Ma’an.
Among the issues being discussed are an end to the
practice of imprisoning Palestinians under administrative detention, restoring
privileges for families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip and moving prisoners
out of solitary confinement, according to the report.
Although the
government is conducting the negotiations, representatives of the prisoners
themselves would need to agree to a deal before the hunger strike is ended, the
PA minister said, according to the report.
Rallies were held throughout
Israel and the Palestinian territories Saturday in a show of solidarity with the
hunger-striking prisoners.
On Friday, hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli
prisons said they would escalate their hunger strike, shunning vitamin
supplements and prison clinics.
“We swear we will not retreat. We are
potential martyrs. Either we live in dignity or die,” prisoner organizers said
in a letter announcing the move. The letter was read out by Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh in the Gaza Strip during a demonstration.
Reuters contributed to
this report