BETHLEHEM, West Bank, April 2 (UPI) -- Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in Hebron Tuesday following the death of a 64-year-old Palestinian prisoner, officials said.
Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, who was serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison, died of throat cancer at a hospital in Be'er Sheva prompting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to begin a three-day hunger strike, Haaretz reported.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for Abu Hamdiyeh's death.
"The Israeli refusal to address our appeals to release Abu Hamdiyeh led to a deterioration in his condition," Abbas said. "We turned to many countries and to the international community to act on behalf of the Palestinian prisoners but Israel did not sway from its position."
Palestinian Authority prisons minister Issa Qaraqe said Abu Hamdiyeh's throat cancer spread to his spinal cord because his condition was neglected, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.
Qaraqe accused Israeli prison authorities of medically neglecting Abu Hamdiyeh for several years and called for an investigation by an international committee.
Abu Hamdiyeh, a Fatah leader from Hebron, was the 207th Palestinian to die in Israeli custody.
