Palestinians hold pictures of their jailed relatives during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (File photo)

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have held a demonstration, demanding the release of their loved ones from Israeli jails, Press TV reports.

The protest took place on Tuesday in front of the Red Cross office where protesters showed their support for the prisoners.

Earlier this week, the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs warned about the deteriorating health condition of the hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails, saying the hunger strikers are at risk of death.

The ministry said that Israel is still holding 5,100 Palestinian detainees, including 250 children and 14 women, in 17 prisons, adding that the health condition of prominent Palestinian prisoner Abdullah Barghouthi, who went on hunger strike more than three months ago, is getting worse in Afula Hospital.

It stated that 537 prisoners were serving one or multiple life sentences, including Barghouthi, who had the highest sentence of 67 life terms and an additional 250 years behind bars.

The ministry also noted that 1,400 prisoners were in a tough health condition, including 18 held at an Israeli hospital suffering from various disabilities, types of paralysis, heart diseases, and cancer.

Many of the inmates are under so-called administrative detention.

The administrative detention, often implemented by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian population, is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charges, allowing regime forces to make arrests without formal charges for up to six months. However, the detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

Palestinian prisoners have been subject to human rights violations such as torture during interrogations by Israeli prison authorities.

MAM/PR