Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday, April, 17, 2017.
A Palestinian tunnel worker dies in Gaza accident as Palestinian political detainees held by Israeli announce hunger strike. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement revealing that one of its fighters was killed, on Monday morning, when a tunnel collapsed on him in Gaza. The Al-Qassam said that Anas Mousa Abu Shaweesh, from the Tuffah neighborhood, in Gaza City, died after a tunnel, on the Gaza-Egypt border, collapsed on him while he was working in it.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in similar accidents, and many more have been injured; most of the casualties have been tunnel workers, not affiliated with any group, but resorted to working in the tunnels due to extremely high levels of unemployment and poverty, in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere, Israeli soldiers have adducted, on Monday at dawn, thirteen Palestinians from various parts of the occupied West Bank, after invading their homes and violently searching them, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported.
Moreover, More than 1300 Palestinian detainees, held by Israel, initiated the first day of hunger strike, on Monday April 17th, which also marks the Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, while hundreds of detainees are preparing to join the “Strike For Dignity.”
All detainees in Asqalan, Nafha, Ramon, Hadarim, Gilboa’ and Be’er as-Sabe’ (Beersheba) have returned their meals, declaring the beginning of their open-ended hunger strike.
Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Committee, stated that the detainees are protesting the escalating Israeli violations, including medical neglect, arbitrary Administrative Detention, denying the family visits and solitary confinement.
Israel is holding captive at least 6500 Palestinians, including 300 children, 19 mothers, and 500 who are held under Administrative Detention orders without charges or trial.
Among the detainees are 13 elected legislators, two former government ministers, 28 journalists and hundreds of academics. All 1800 hunger striking detainees suffer from various illnesses, including 180 who are facing life-threatening conditions and 26 cancer patients, in addition to 80 disabled Palestinians.
And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Monday, April, 17, 2017, news round-up from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. From more news and updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org today’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me Ghassan Bannoura.
