IPS hospitalizes hunger striking PFLP leader

Ahmad Saadat moved to Ramla prison hospital by Israel prison service after joining hunger strike on April 17 .

By JPOST.COM STAFF
PALESTINIANS RALLY in Ramallah for Prisoners Day 370 (photo credit: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)
PALESTINIANS RALLY in Ramallah for Prisoners Day 370
(photo credit: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)
Ahmad Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was transferred to a hospital Sunday after suffering a serious deterioration in his health, according to a PFLP statement obtained by Ma'an news agency reported.
Saadat was moved to Ramla prison hospital by the Israel prison service (IPS) after joining a hunger strike on April 17 protesting certain Israeli policies, such as solitary confinement, in which he has been held for three years.
Other PFLP prisoners rejected an IPS offer to release Saadat from a solitary confinement in return for ending their hunger strike, the report said.
Saadat was arrested by Israeli forces in 2006 from a Palestinian Authority jail in Jericho and was sentenced to 30 years for his role in masterminding the assassination of former Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.
At least 1,200 Palestinian prisoners launched an open-ended hunger strike on April 17.
Besides solitary confinement, the hunger strikers are protesting administrative detention, restrictions on visits, strip searches of certain visitors and access to studying for academic degrees. 
The start of the strike last week coincided with the release of Khader Adnan, a prisoner who refused food for 66 days before agreeing to a deal under which he was freed. Adnan is a member of Islamic Jihad.
The striking prisoners said they would drink only water and salt until their demands are met.
Israel has taken measures against some 1,200 Palestinian prisoners involved in the hunger strike, denying them family visits and separating them from inmates not taking part in the protest.