PA minister: Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to hold hunger strikes

Palestinian leadership to take measures to change "conduct in the field," official says, without elaborating.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ofer Prison 370 (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Ofer Prison 370
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
A senior Palestinian Authority minister warned on Friday that Palestinian inmates were planning to hold protests next week in Israeli jails.
PA Deputy Minister for Prisoner Affairs Ziad Abu Ein said the protests in response to Israel's decision to scrap a fourth release of long-serving prisoners for peace talks would include hunger strikes, Israel Radio reported.
He added that the Palestinian leadership would implement a series of steps that would unilaterally change the PA's conduct in the field.
He did not elaborate on the measures.
Earlier on Friday, Palestinian protestors clashed with IDF forces outside Israel's Ofer Prison near Ramallah during riots calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.
During a marathon meeting overnight Wednesday, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni informed chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat that Jerusalem would not release a final group of 26 terrorists convicted before the 1993 Oslo Accords because the Palestinians had unilaterally decided to apply to 15 international treaties and conventions.
Before the current round of peace talks resumed in July 2013, Israel committed to freeing 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners. Israel has so far released 78 terrorists since August.