Palestinians plan one-day hunger strike

RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 9 (UPI) -- Palestinian prisoners held by Israel plan to go without food for a day to support three men who are on long-term hunger strikes, the Palestinian Authority said.

The one-day strike is set for Monday, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported. It was announced by Issa Qaraqe, the authority's prisoner affairs minister.

Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 25, from Rafah in Gaza, a member of Palestine's national soccer team, has been in prison for almost three years and on hunger strike for 83 days. Akram al-Rekhawi, 38, has been going without food for 59 days in spite of suffering from diabetes, while Samer al-Barq, 38, joined a mass hunger strike, ended it when other prisoners did and then launched his own hunger strike when his detention order was renewed.

The mass hunger strike ended May 14, almost a month after it began, when Israel agreed to consider easing policies on family visits and solitary confinement.

Richard Falk, the United Nations special rapporteur, urged Israel to either charge Sarsak or release him.