17 Palestinians Strike To Protest Israel's Administrative Detention

Seventeen Palestinian detainees in Israel have launched a hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention without charge or trial, a local NGO said on Sunday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said the detainees have gone on hunger strike to protest Israel's policy of administrative detention, which allows Tel Aviv to hold Palestinians without trial or charge.

The NGO said one of the striking detainees, Salem Zeidat in the Negev prison, was in a serious health condition.

According to the statement, the striking detainees are held in the Negev prison, Beersheba prison complex, Ashkelon prison, Ohlekdar prison, Megiddo prison and the Ofer prison.

Since the start of the year, around 40 Palestinian detainees went on hunger strike in protest of their arrest with no charges or trials.

There are around 4,850 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including 41 women, 225 children and 40 administrative detainees, according to institutions concerned with prisoners' affairs.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara -