Monday, July 20, 2009

Palestinian prisoner in Israel starts hunger strike

Published yesterday (updated) 20/07/2009 12:41

Israeli jail [Ma'anImages]
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian prisoner Jilbu Riyad Al-Umour began a hunger strike six days ago in protest of situation, relatives told the Palestinian Prisoners' Society in Bethlehem on Sunday.

Al-Umour has been serving a life sentence since 2003 in an Israeli jail, but suffers from several health conditions, including heart disease. He has insisted that he requires medical intervention but that it had been denied.

The Prisoners' Society demanded that Israel respect its obligations to detainees' health, and said that the Israeli prison service would be "held accountable for Al-Umour's life, and the more than 1,000 ill Palestinian prisoners in Israel's custody."