Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on the first day of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, after reaching a compromise with Israel for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Israel prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike Saturday morning. Englander said 1,578 prisoners participated in the hunger strike overall, some fasting intermediately, and 834 ended their fast Saturday. Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas’ Fatah movement. Also Saturday, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in central Tel Aviv in the evening in support of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel to end the conflict.

Source: Egypt Independent May 28, 2017 13:07 UTC