Detainees in Huwwara jail 'start hunger strike'

Prisoners in Israel's Huwwara detention center started a hunger strike Wednesday in protest of poor conditions, the Palestinian prisoners society said. The society's lawyer visited the jail Thursday and said prisoners were returning their meals. Prisoner Rida Khalid, of al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus, said detainees were demanding decent food, cleaning products to wash their clothes and cells and adequate breaks, the society said in a statement. Khalid said prisoners' demands were basic yet the administration refused to meet them. He said the hunger strike would continue until the demands were met. The society has called for the closure of Huwwara and Etzion prisons and says they are the worst of Israel's jails.