Solidarity sit-ins held in West Bank
People in many West Bank cities and towns have staged a general sit-in to express solidarity with fellow Palestinians held in Israeli jails, Aljazeera’s correspondent reports.
Shops were closed and streets were calm, the correspondent said. The sit-in on Tuesday coincided with a similar strike in the Syrian Golan towns.
Correspondent Walid al-Umari, reporting from the West Bank town of Ram Allah, said tents had been set up by people on hunger strike in solidarity with prisoners who have been on hunger strike for the tenth day running.
Lawyers were also staging a demonstration wearing black uniforms in front of the Majeddo prison on Tuesday, the correspondent reported.
In Nazareth, there are plans to set up a tent for the ”solidarity hungers strikers”, he added.
Most of the 8000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are on an indefinite hunger strike to try extract better living conditions.
They are demanding an across-the-board improvement including mandatory visiting rights, an end to body searches, and the removal of glass barriers which separate them from their family during visits.
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Israeli troops have rounded up |
Military operation
Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched an extensive military operation in Nablus, particularly in the Old City, during the early hours of Tuesday, the correspondent reported.
The Old City is now completely sealed off, al-Umari added.
The Israeli operation also extended to the Askar refugee camp, the correspondent reported.
The occupation forces have encircled the camp and imposed a curfew on it while raiding many houses there.
They rounded up about 1000 Palestinian youngsters in Nablus‘s UNRWA School square and arrested some of them, Aljazeera’s correspondent said. The news agency AFP said 300 Palestinians between the ages of 16 and 50 were arrested after questioning.
According to Aljazeera’s al-Umari, Bethlehem city witnessed a similar operation when Israeli forces raided and surrounded a hospital in the city on Tuesday morning. They also raided a nearby building and arrested a leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the city.
Rolling in from several directions, more than 30 Israeli military vehicles were involved in the operation.