Dozens of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons have participated in a hunger strike initiated by Hamas members to interfere with mobile devices in the prison.
These devices were installed by prison services at Ramon Prison in southern Israel to prevent the use of smuggled phones, but prisoners stated that they emit high levels of radiation and are harmful to health.
The strike, initially initiated by more than 20 prisoners, has now spread to 88 prisoners associated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including some prisons across Israel.
The protesters refused to eat or drink. The Israeli Prison Authority issued a statement stating that the strike was "the result of instigation by a few individual prisoners without guidance or organization", and stated that the majority of strikers were "dragged into it" and protested "solely based on identification rather than personal will" They added, 'We will not be intimidated by the strike,' and said that the protesters will be punished by solitary confinement, and they will only receive a mattress and a blanket.
At this point, there is no connection between Hamas and the Israeli Prison Authority, which is trying to persuade prisoners to end the strike. The power struggle between different Hamas prisoner groups is also going on behind the scenes: the strike initiative is initiated by prisoners in East Jerusalem, not the organizers of the Passover Massacre in Netanya in 2002, who are considered to be Hamas leaders in prison
On Wednesday, 23 Hamas security prisoners at Ramon Prison began a strike, and 13 more prisoners joined them over the weekend. On Saturday, the prisoner claimed that the prison authorities had agreed to remove the interference device and use a public telephone installed in the ward to replace the prisoner, but the Israeli Prison Authority denied this claim. The striking prisoners said that their demand for an increase in the number of days using public telephones - from three to five days - has been met.
They also claimed that in addition to dismantling the signal jammers, the prison service agreed to paint the wooden boards that hide them green, which is a color related to Hamas. Prisoners in the Yiftach community said that the cells closest to the blockers have also been cleared. But the prisoners also stated that they requested not to shoot security cameras at Damon Prison during the recess, and their request for senior Hamas officials to enter the juvenile detention center to teach children was also rejected. As long as their demands are not accepted, the organizers have decided to continue the strike.
A prisoner told Haaretz that Hamas leaders held a meeting on Wednesday in Ramon, Nafha, Eschert, Keziot and Rimonim prisons and coordinated their next actions. They threaten to extend the strike and involve Hamas leaders in Gaza.
About a week after Israel began using public telephones in prisons, the strike began. The leader is Ramadan Mashahra, a Hamas member who was sentenced to 20 life sentences for participating in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem and is also one of the Hamas leaders in Ramon Prison. The protesters' demands include entering the juvenile detention center and transferring to a better equipped Ketziot prison.
Israeli security officials believe that Hamas believes that Israel hopes to avoid adding
