Palestinian Islamic Jihad captives suspend hunger strike, announce victory

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) captives have suspended their hunger strike after reaching an agreement with Israeli authorities, PIJ officials said on Friday.

“The prisoners decided to suspend the hunger strike after they scored victory against the administration of the occupation prison authorities,” said PIJ official Tareq Ezaddin.

The details of the agreement between the captives and the Israel Prison Service will be announced in the coming hours, Ezaddin said. “The victory is a turning point in the confrontation with the [Israeli] jailer,” he added.

A statement issued by the leadership of the PIJ prisoners held in Israeli prisons confirmed that the hunger strike, which began nine days ago, has ended.

Sheikh Khader Adnan, a senior PIJ official in the northern West Bank, congratulated the families of the prisoners of PIJ for ending the hunger strike. He did not provide details about the alleged agreement with the Israeli authorities.

Some 250 PIJ inmates went on hunger strike nine days ago in protest of restrictions imposed on them following the escape of six prisoners from Gilboa Prison last month.

Five of the escapees belong to PIJ, while the sixth, Zakariya Zbeidi, is a member of the ruling Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

On Thursday, the Islamic Jihad movement threatened to expand the hunger strike to include all 400 PIJ captives if the demands of the inmates are not met.

The captives demanded that the Israel Prison Service rescind its decision to transfer them to other prisons and place some of them in solitary confinement following the prison break.