Compromise ends hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners

Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast Saturday after reaching a compromise with Israeli authorities for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

Israel prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike Saturday morning. She said it came after Israel reached a deal with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for each prisoner to receive a second family visit per month.

Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike, which they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.

The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since Israel’s 1967 capture of territories that Palestinians seek for their state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Englander said 1,578 prisoners participated in the hunger strike overall and that 834 ended their fast Saturday. She said 18 were being treated in hospitals.

Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offenses linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in cases that include stone-throwing, weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza, and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a seemingly distracted international community as the Israeli occupation hits the 50-year mark in early June.

Support for the prisoners is an emotional-consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel at one time or another since 1967.

Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas’ Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organizer Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and secure his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghouti’s family has denied such claims.

Qadoura Fares, who runs the Prisoners’ Club advocacy group, said negotiations took place between Israeli officials and a committee from the prisoners, including Barghouti. He said negotiations began Friday and were the first since the strike began. He said he had no details on the terms of the deal.

Barghouti is serving five life terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he never mounted a defense, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.

Earlier this month, Israel released video that it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast. Palestinians say the video is a fabrication.

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