Three Palestinian female prisoners declared on Sunday evening an open-ended hunger strike in Israeli jails joining 250 other striking prisoners.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Authority identified the three female prisoners as Mona Qaadan Amal Taqatqa and Shatila Abu Ayada.
At least 250 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have begun a hunger strike to protest their difficult detention conditions and the Israeli collective punitive measures imposed on prisoners following the Gilboa prison break.
The hunger strike led by the Islamic Jihad group comes amid heightened tensions in Israeli detention facilities following the escape of six prisoners from a high-security prison last month.
All six were recaptured within a couple of weeks but the escape embarrassed Israeli authorities and was hailed as heroic by Palestinians.
Israel is currently holding more than 4600 Palestinians in its prisons including more than 200 children.
