Shopkeepers in East Jerusalem closed their stores on Thursday to show solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners.

The strike was called by national and Islamic groups in Jerusalem and sees shops closed in the busy areas of Saladin Street, Bab al-Zahara, Sultan al-Suleiman Street, and parts of the Old City.

“The prisoners are facing the occupation with a strong will and determination. Those prisoners are defending our dignity and our Jerusalem,” a statement by local groups in Jerusalem said.

A sit-in protest is also planned outside of the Red Cross offices in Sheikh Jarrah.

Meanwhile, over 50 members of the Palestinian People’s Party began a solidarity hunger-strike to support Palestinian administrative detainees.

Nasser al-Far, a PPP representative for the prisoners’ committee, called for local and international pressure on Israel to abide by the Geneva Conventions.

Some 125 prisoners in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on April 24 against Israel’s policy of holding Palestinians in custody indefinitely without charge or trial.

Around 80 prisoners are being held in civilian hospitals in Israel as a result of the hunger strike, which prisoner rights group Addameer called the longest collective action of its kind in Palestinian history.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)