Mamdouh Al-Aker, the director of Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), told the Hamas website that representatives of his commission visited the Bethlehem hospital where the prisoners are receiving medical care.

Hamas said its seven prisoners were being held in the Palestinian Authority (PA) central prison in West Bank city of Jericho. They launched the hunger strike late in December to protest what they called “cruel treatment and humiliation” and to demand to be released in accordance with the Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling. They were transferred to the Bethlehem hospital after their health deteriorated.

Al-Aker said that the “prisoners stopped drinking milk and liquids.” The official added that the prisoners’ situation is an indication that they are determined to stick to their demands.

Meanwhile, Hamas held the PA responsible for the lives and safety of the movement’s prisoners in its jails.

Hamas says the arrests of its members and supporters in the West Bank hinder the possibility of achieving a national unity agreement with the Fatah movement.