Numerous shops, as well as public and private agencies in the West Bank closed down Monday to show support for the hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, who have been waging a hunger strikes for the past 36 days.
Various resistance groups organized the "general strike" to draw attention to the ongoing hunger strike. The strike was so far-reaching that it led traffic and public transportation in the West Bank to come to a halt.
Palestinian Prisoners Society Chairman Kadura Fares told Anadolu Agency that Israeli officials and Palestinian representatives continued to be in contact regarding the ongoing strike, however an agreement had not yet been reached.
Fares underlined that there was no negotiation process at the moment between the two sides, adding Israel was ready to meet most of the demands of Palestinian prisoners to end the hunger strike.
Meanwhile, several marches protesting Israel's practices toward jailed Palestinian are also expected to be organized Monday afternoon in West Bank city centers and at contact points with Israeli soldiers.
A total of 1,500 Palestinians in Israeli prisons have been in hunger strike since April 17 to protest Israel's arbitrary treatments and rights abuses at the institutions. Some 200 additional Palestinian prisoners joined the hunger strike Sunday.
According to a report prepared by various non-governmental organizations including the Palestinian Prisoners Society, about 7,000 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel including 481 people from Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, 300 minors and 57 women.
