Story highlights More than a thousand Palestinian prisoners launch hunger strikes

Prisoners demand end to solitary confinement, administrative detention

Jerusalem (CNN) More than a thousand Palestinians in Israeli prisons launched a hunger strike Monday, demanding better living and medical conditions for approximately 6,500 prisoners.

Some 1,600 prisoners are taking part, Palestinian Authority Prisoners' Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said. More prisoners may join the hunger strike, which was planned to coincide with Palestinian Prisoners' Day, Qaraqe said.

Qaraqe urged Palestinians to support the strike and called on human rights organizations to press Israel about conditions in prisons.

The hunger strike is a way of "bringing prisoners closer to their basic rights and demands and preventing the occupation from harming the dignity of the Palestinian prisoners," he said in a statement.

A woman holds the portrait of a Palestinian prisoner during a rally in Ramallah Monday.

Marwan Barghouti, a high-profile prisoner who enjoys broad support among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, called for the "Freedom and Dignity" strike. Many Palestinians see Barghouti as a potential future leader of the Palestinian Authority, despite his prison sentence.

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