Palestinian inmates may end hunger strike in Israeli jails: Officials

“A deal could be reached tonight, but it should be presented to prisoners in the Israeli jails, possibly Monday morning, for endorsement before an official announcement,” said a Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Sunday.

An Egyptian official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, said on Sunday that Israel had agreed to an Egyptian proposal, which called on Israeli authorities to move the Palestinian prisoners from solitary confinement to regular cells, and to soften the administrative detention policy.

Taher al-Nono, a spokesperson for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said on Sunday night, “We hope the intensive efforts by Egypt to meet the demands of prisoners will reach a positive conclusion in the coming hours.”

However, Israeli officials have not either confirmed or denied agreement on the Egyptian-mediated deal.

Reports say representatives from the Palestinian hunger strikers and the Israel Prison Service are expected to meet and discuss the deal later on Monday.

On April 17, about 1,500 to 2,500 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the administrative detention and solitary confinement exercised by the Tel Aviv regime, demanding the reinstatement of family visits from the Gaza Strip.

The administrative detention, often implemented by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian population, is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge, allowing regime forces to make detentions for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

According to a May 1, 2012 report published by the non-governmental Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association, Addameer, at least 4,653 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails.