Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will approach countries that have signed and ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention and demand that the convention be fully applied in the Occupied Territories, mainly with regards to the treatment of prisoners of war.
In a public address on Palestinian Prisoner's Day, Abbas said the PNA demands that Israelis treat Palestinian prisoner according to the Generva Convention, the international humanitarian law, and the international human rights declaration.
He stressed that the prisoners' issue remains the leadership's top priority and that it will never rest until the last prisoner walks out free from the Israeli jail.
Abbas urged the Palestinian Prisoner Movement to preserve its unity and never give a chance for any divisions. He stressed that Israel would be the only beneficiary and would take advantage of the Palestinian split in the prisons.
Hunger strike
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel launched a hunger strike yesterday, officials said, protesting their conditions and demanding an end to open-ended detentions without trial as the Palestinians marked their annual day of solidarity with the inmates.
Some 3,500 prisoners refused meals on "Prisoners' Day", and 1,200 of them said they would continue with an open-ended hunger strike, according to Israeli prison service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman.
The mass hunger strike is one of the largest on record, said Sahar Francis of Addameer, a prisoner rights group.
Although it remains unclear how many will continue with the protest, they join 10 other Palestinian prisoners already on hunger strike, including two who have been hospitalised after refusing food for more than 40 days, she said.
The day's activities, which included protests throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, coincided with the scheduled release of the longest hunger striker in Palestinian history.
Khadar Adnan, who was on a hunger-strike for 66 days, was set to be freed later yesterday as part of a deal reached with Israel.
The Palestinian Government, meanwhile, urged the UN to act seriously and immediately to force Israel to treat the Palestinian prisoners according to the international agreements and conventions.
Crucial support
Dr Salam Fayyad said in an official statement that the UN should press Israel to secure the Palestinian prisoners get their basic human rights. He stressed that the Palestinian government fully supports the prisoners who have begun a hunger strike.
The Palestinian government condemned in the strongest terms the attack and arrest of the international supporters who arrived in the Israeli airports in support of the Palestinians.
The PNA marked the day in various cities, where a central celebration was held in the Arafat graveyard area.
The Israeli forces fired rubber coated bullets and tear gas to disperse Palestinians who took part in a demonstration organised near Ofar Camp, near Ramallah.
Families of Palestinian prisoners actively took part in the demonstrations urging their leadership to pay greater attention to the issue of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails and to make that a central precondition for any future negotiations with Israel.
