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Israel punishing Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike with solitary confinement and no lawyers



BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli prison authorities are cracking down on Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails, a prisoner rights group said Thursday.

Strikers protesting worsening conditions have been transferred to different facilities, denied visits by lawyers, and put in solitary confinement, a release from Addameer said.

At Ofer prison, 12 hunger strikers were held in two isolation cells meant for four detainees each and forced to walk around the prison overnight, the group said. Hunger strikers at Ofer and Ashkelon prisons have been beaten by prison authorities, it said.

Detainees' lawyers said they were turned away from jails due to a "situation of emergency" declared by Israel's prison service, the group added.

One lawyer was able to meet PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat and Palestinian parliamentarian Jamal Abu Hija on Thursday, the statement said. The men told the lawyer Israeli authorities removed all electrical items from their cell, and barred cigarettes and salt, in response to their hunger strike.

Saadat, who has been isolated in jail for three years, and whose treatment sparked the first strikes on Sept. 27, was fined 228 shekels ($61) and his ban on family visits extended for taking part, the group said. more

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