Egypt is exerting efforts to reach an agreement that prevents the expansion of the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike and the aggravation of tension in prisons, chairman of the Prisoners Affairs Commission Qadri Abu Bakr announced, adding that Egyptian mediators are making efforts with Israel to implement what has been agreed upon between the prisoners and the Israeli Prisons Services (IPS).
Abu Bakr said the Egyptian efforts "are conducted directly with the Israelis side on one hand and with Hamas movement on the other within a truce understanding between Palestinian factions and Israel in the Gaza Strip."
He also pointed out that the prisoners are watching what result could come out from the Egyptian efforts in order to decide whether to proceed with the strike or suspend it.
Hamas top officials inside the prison announced Monday an open hunger strike, warning that more will join them if Israel did not respond to their demands. Abu Bakr said that 150 prisoners went on hunger strike in what became known as “Battle of Dignity 2”.
The prisoners went into strike after two days of negotiations during which limited progress was achieved, and no agreement was reached on the most important issue: the removal of jamming devices from the prisoners' sections.
However, the decision to go on strike was surprising given the previous Palestinian and Israeli reports about achieving progress. Both parties agreed to install public phones in cell blocks, in exchange for prisoners handing over their smuggled cell phones, while they did not agree on the fate of the jamming devices.
The prisoners were demanding the removal of all jamming devices recently installed in some prisons due to their impact on the health of the prisoners, allowing family visits, installing public phones in the prisons, ending the solitary confinement of prisoners who were punished following the recent conflict in the prisons, ending raids on cells and assaults and improving medical service, among others.
But the request to remove jamming devices is the most prominent and most important demand that the prisoners insist on.
IPS responded to the open strike by isolating striking Palestinian prisoners and transferring them to other prisons. It began relocating them from the Naqab and Ramon prisons in the south of the country to other prisons in an attempt to end their hunger strike.
Abu Bakr told WAFA that more prisoners are expected to join their fellow striking prisoners today, while a larger number of prisoners will join the strike on April 17 and on May 1, noting that the Israeli authorities are expected to intensify their repressive measures against the striking prisoners in the coming days, especially force-feeding them.
Abu Bakr condemned the attack carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities against the prisoners, which comes in accordance with the orders and instructions of the extreme right-wing government and its military agencies.
Abu Bakr held Netanyahu and all far-right extremists the full responsibility for the safety of the prisoners, warning that this could lead to an escalation on the streets. He called on all local and international institutions and agencies to exert efforts to meet the demands of the families and pressure the Israeli government to respond to them.
While the prisoners currently refuse food, they are expected to also refuse water in one week, which could lead to serious consequences on their health, according to sources from the detention centers.
