Palestinian captives on 51st day of hunger strike

More than 120 Palestinian inmates have been on an open-ended hunger strike since April 24 in protest at the Israeli “administrative detention,” which is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

About 70 of the hunger-striking prisoners have been taken to hospitals as their health conditions have seriously deteriorated.

Earlier, 17 rights groups and the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoners’ Affairs wrote a letter to EU Foreign Policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to draw her attention to the situation of the hunger-striking Palestinians, as the overall number of the hunger-strikers has increased to 290.