(CNN) Palestinians across the world are posting videos of themselves on social media drinking salt water, as part of a new online challenge intended to draw attention to Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prisons.

The Salt Water Challenge, as it's called, asks supporters of the hunger strike to express their solidarity in a video before mixing salt in a glass of water and drinking it. Similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014, participants then challenge friends to do the same.

The challenge involves saltwater because that's what the hunger strikers are drinking to stabilize their health while abstaining from food.

More than 1,500 Palestinians in eight Israeli prisons launched a "Hunger Strike for Freedom and Dignity" on April 17 to demand better living conditions and medical treatment. The strike was coordinated by Marwan Barghouti, a high-profile prisoner who enjoys broad support among Palestinians.

An Israeli court convicted Barghouti in 2004 of five counts of murder, including orchestrating attacks against Israelis. He has denied the charges and claimed to be targeted by Israeli authorities for his politics and activism against Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories.

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