Internationals in Gaza Join Hunger Strike for Palestinian Prisoner Rights

In Gaza, hundreds have been gathering in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on a daily basis to demonstrate for prisoner rights.

(JERUSALEM / GAZA CITY) - An open-ended hunger strike was announced by Palestinian prisoners on 27 September. The prisoners are demanding better conditions, an end to isolation and degradation by Israeli prison guards, and for a change in the policy that denies many prisoners the right to have visitors. Additionally, many prisoners are calling for the release of Ahmad Sa'adat, a political prisoner and former General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In Gaza, hundreds have been gathering in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on a daily basis to demonstrate for prisoner rights. Protesters have maintained a permanent encampment in and around the ICRC courtyard since Sunday, 2 October.

Additionally, Palestinian activists in Gaza have called for international supporters to join the hunger strike for 24 hours on Wednesday, 12 October, and use Twitter to publicize their participation and solidarity.

Now three foreign nationals residing in Gaza have entered their fifth day of an open-ended hunger strike and protest encampment in front of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross).

Vera Macht of Germany who has written many reports carried by Salem-News.com, stated: "The situation of Palestinian prisoners is truly heartbreaking. Parents are separated from their children, and wives from their husbands, for years, without so much as a letter or video." Vera's sincere approach is a crystal clear indicator of the increasing dedication of these international activists for human rights.

Another activist taking part in the Gaza Hunger Strike is Silvia Todeschini, of Italy; a country known for its solidarity with Gaza, particularly through the work of another Italian national, Vittorio Arrigoni, who was Murdered in Gaza last April. Silvia said in regard to the strike: "They have been on strike for over two weeks with very basic demands. We will strike with them, and hope that this will help to stop the world's silence about their situation."

Joe Catron of the United States, is a writer whose work we have carried many times. He has been living in Gaza and advocating for the rights of people there for a long time, and in fact was rooming with Salem-News.com reporter Ken O'Keefe at one point.

In discussing the hunger strike, Joe said: "Palestinian prisoners are bravely resisting a system that seeks to crush them, their families, their communities, and their national life. Their struggle deserves our full support."

The solidarity between all ISM members is so strong and their dedication toward seeing a better day in Gaza so complete, that I don't think the average American can even begin to grasp it. There is no going backward for people of their nature and caliber and it is extremely important for me on a personal level because there are many good morally conscious Americans trying to make this world a better place and for them, few days are easy or simple. They are genuine mold breakers and if their words could reach enough people, everything would change. The Israeli government would withdraw from the occupied territories, they would knock down their separation walls and end the imprisonment of Gazans and all Palestinians, and throw away their apartheid laws and open up their 'Jewish only' roads, while ensuring that prisoners are treated with equal and fair treatment.