UK students go on hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners

Undergraduates of the University of Manchester are currently on hunger strike in protest and solidarity with the way Palestinian prisoners are being treated in Israeli jails.

Student activists at the University of Manchester have hinted that the hunger strike will last for at least one week while also demanding that authorities drop disciplinary action against activists for protests in March.

The hunger strike is coming after more than 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners, led by senior Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, refused food to raise awareness of alleged abuses by Israeli prison authorities.

Mohammed Ezzeldin, one of the five UK students on hunger strike, explained his reasons for participating.

“Political prisoners in Palestine are being held for up to six months without charge or fair trial,” he said.

“They are facing abhorrent conditions in jail, with no access to medical treatment or visitation rights.”