Gazans hold sit-in to support hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner
Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza
People in the blockaded Gaza Strip held a sit-in outside the Red Cross office in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike for about 80 consecutive days.
Al-Akhras has been hospitalized since September 6 and his health continues to deteriorate. Despite his dire condition, Israel is insisting on keeping him in custody.
Hundreds of Palestinian detainees including women and minors are under administrative detention in which the Israeli regime keeps the detainees for up to six months, a period which can be extended many times.
Reports say some 5,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently being held in 24 Israeli prisons and detention centers where they are denied basic human rights.
During the sit-in, the Islamic Jihad movement called on Palestinians to unite and confront the Israeli regime.
Human rights organizations say the administrative detention violates the right to due process, since evidence is withheld from prisoners and their lawyers while they are held for lengthy periods without being charged or tried.
Activists in Gaza slammed the silence of the international community over administrative detention.
Palestinian detainees have repeatedly resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express their outrage at their inhumane detention conditions.
Observers say Palestinian prisoners will continue to suffer inside Israeli jails as long as the international community keeps turning a blind eye to Tel Aviv's violations of their rights.
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