Conflict Incident Report

Palestinians in Shatila held a day of solidarity in support of the 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails currently engaged in an open-ended hunger strike that started mid-April to protest harsh conditions inside Israeli prisons. Activists affiliated with the Palestinian National Forum, the Children and Youth Center, the Forum of Prisoners Liberated from the Occupation’s Prisons and the Popular Initiative of Shatila Camp began a three-day solidarity hunger strike, which will last until Sunday.

“They [the prisoners on hunger strike in Israel] are helping us and we must help them,” Rawi Joumaa, one of the Palestinians in Shatila who began hunger striking, said. “They teach us a lesson every day – one of resistance and perseverance. It is important for us to send a message of solidarity to them.”

A rally took place 5 p.m. Thursday on the Children and Youth Center’s premises, where a tent was set up to host those on hunger strike. According to Joumaa, “all factions took part [in the rally]” to express solidarity with Palestinian prisoners from across the political spectrum who are currently peacefully protesting in six Israeli prisons.

The open-ended hunger strike was initiated on April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, and was one of the largest in recent years. Prisoners have now been on hunger strike for 25 days. Their conditions are said to be critical, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

“We are talking about people whose lives are at risk,” Abou Moujahed, the director of the Children and Youth Center, told The Daily Star. Visibly distraught at the thought of what might await the prisoners, Abou Moujahed said that the hunger strike he and others decided to undertake in Shatila is a drop in the ocean compared to what needs to be done to change the state of affairs in Israel.

“What we are doing is not enough – it will never be enough. We are talking about our people, our brothers, our cousins,” he said.

Hanan Fayez, a 33-year-old mother of three who attended the rally with her children, said Palestinians will “resist until the last breath,” until they are able to return to Palestine.

Despite having been displaced first to Syria’s Yarmouk camp and then to Shatila, Fayez said her identity was never in question. “Palestinians always stick together wherever they go. This is why I am here, to express my solidarity with those who are on hunger strike for a free Palestine.”