Several ministers of the South African government have declared they they will open a 24-hour hunger strike between the 14th and 15th of May in solidarity with some 1,300 Palestinian prisoners currently on the 26th day of a mass hunger strike.
Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) movement Mustafa Barghouthi said in a statement Friday that South Africa’s minister of health, minister of communications, minister of industry and economic development, and minister of science will participate in the hunger strike along with six deputies of ministers, high officials and leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) , journalists, and leaders of national social organizations.
Ramphosa to Embark on Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Palestinians. @FaizelPatel143 #DignityStrikeSA #Palestine https://t.co/2eTwPG8tIx pic.twitter.com/kDZvRHDEI6
— Radio Islam (@radioislam) May 12, 2017
According to prisoners’ rights organization Addameer, 40 percent of the male Palestinian population has been detained by Israeli authorities at some point in their lives, as rights groups have long accused Israel of using routine imprisonment as a tool to erode family and political life in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli authorities have detained approximately one million Palestinians since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 1967, according to Palestinian organizations.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
