25 prisoners start hunger strike in Israel jail

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Two dozen prisoners in an Israeli detention facility in the occupied West Bank have launched a hunger strike against their living conditions, the Palestinian prisoners society said Thursday.

The 25 detainees in the Etzion detention facility near Bethlehem started refusing food over two weeks ago, said Jaclyn Fararjeh, a lawyer for the prisoners rights group.

The prisoners say Etzion is crowded and for that reason, breaks have been reduced from an hour to only 30 minutes. Additionally, there is not enough food for the number of prisoners, they say.

Some of the prisoners accused the Israel Prison Service of placing them in solitary confinement without justification and beating them.

Before the 25 in Etzion, there were three prisoners remaining on hunger strike. more

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