Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails ended a hunger strike late on Friday after 40 days, as their health was deteriorating and after, news media reports said, the authorities agreed to at least one of the prisoners’ demands.
About 1,000 men had taken part in the strike, and Israeli officials said this past week that nearly every prisoner had needed hospital care, including the leader of the strike, Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian politician convicted of five murders in the Palestinian uprising that began in 2000.
About 1,000 men had taken part in the strike, and Israeli officials said this past week that nearly every prisoner had needed hospital care, including the leader of the strike, Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian politician convicted of five murders in the Palestinian uprising that began in 2000.
In a statement on Saturday, Barghouti confirmed the end of the hunger strike, timed to coincide with the beginning of Ramadan, but he did not specify any agreements with the Israeli authorities.
Israeli officials accused Barghouti of staging the strike to raise his position in the volatile struggle over leadership among Palestinians.