Supporters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement organized a mass rally in Gaza on Monday in support of Palestinian prisoners under the banner “We will not fail our heroic prisoners.”
Member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement Khaled Al-Batsh said during the rally that “Today, Gaza comes out to confirm that it will not abandon the prisoners.”
He reiterated an early statement by the party’s Secretary-General Ziyad Al-Nakhala that “the martyrdom of any prisoner calls for a response from the resistance of the Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank, and its army in Gaza, next to our brothers in the resistance factions.”
At least 40 Palestinian prisoners have started an open-ended hunger strike, Al-Quds Association announced on Friday.
The prisoners started their hunger strike on Thursday in solidarity with hunger striker Khalil Awawdeh, who had been on hunger strike for 20 days.
Elsewhere in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians belonging to various political groups protested, held vigils and signed letters demanding that the international community come to the support of hunger-striking Palestinians and pressure Israel to improve the conditions inside its prisons.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
