The Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi Al-Asir) said in a press statement that "more than 7,000 Palestinian male and female prisoners in ten central Israeli prisons and three detention camps refused to receive their meals offered by the prison on Wednesday."

The club added that the prisoners "will also strike on April 17 and 27 if Israeli prisons' authorities ignore their demands to improve their living conditions." It added that Palestinian prisoners are living the worst ever living conditions in Israeli jails, adding that the Israeli prisons' authorities keep ignoring their demands.

The hunger strikers want more access to university education, entry of books into prisons, telephones, Arab satellite channels, a cessation of strip searches, end of solitary confinement, imposing financial fines on prisoners, improving food quality and ease restrictions on family visitations.

The club said that the strike was launched in accordance with a timetable prepared by the Palestinian prisoners' movement and the prisoners' families. It added that the families also suspended the visits of their relatives in all Israeli jails during April "to protest the Israeli measures of preventing hundreds of families in West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and Arab cities inside Israel from visiting their jailed relatives."

Qaddoura Faris, head of Nadi Al-Asir and former Minister of Prisoners Affairs, called on Palestinian political movements and Palestinian people to "support the prisoners in their just resistance against the Israeli violations."

Faris told Arab News that "Israel is defying the international laws and treaties by depriving the Palestinian prisoners from their basic needs of food quality, education, family visits and access to media outlets."

According to Faris, female Palestinian prisoners suffer from loss of weight, hair, general weakness, anemia and iron deficiency due to insufficient and poor quality of food. Their food is not changed or improved when they fall ill, are pregnant or breast-feeding, Faris said.

The official added that "Israel holding more than 360 children in the prisons of Majido, Damoun, Ofer and Telmond where they are facing daily torture and provocations by the Israeli guards."

"Most of the children are suffering from various physical and psychological diseases as a result of the inhuman circumstances of living." He described the cells where the children are confined as "graves" that no light could enter, and is closed most of the day.

He accused the Israeli prison authority of not allowing the children to shower or even change their clothes while in solitary confinement.

Fares called on human rights groups, and the international Red Cross to intervene and practice pressures on the Israeli authorities to stop these violations.

The Palestinian prisoners held dozens of hunger strikes since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967. Abdulqader Abu Al-Fahem was the first Palestinian prisoner to die after 15 days of hunger strike at the Asqlan prison in 1970. The prisoners Rasim Halaweh, Alial-Ja'fari and Ishaq Maragheh died in the Nafhah prison in 1980 after 32 days of hunger strike. The prisoners Anees Douleh and Hussein Obaidat died in 1992 after 15 days of hunger strike.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had repeatedly said the Palestinians will not sign any final peace agreement before Israel shuts down all its prisons and releases all the Palestinian prisoners, which were rejected by Israel.