He said that the newspaper "presents arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti as a 'parliamentarian and leader, '" adding that the "paper recanted after we pointed it out to them". "He was given five consecutive life terms after being convicted in an Israeli criminal court of premeditated murder for his role in terrorist attacks that killed five people, along with other crimes".
Protesters have launched sympathy marches in several major towns in the West Bank, such as Hebron and Ramallah.
Barghouti, along with Karim Younis, Maher Younis and Mahmoud Abu Sorour, were isolated and placed in solitary confinement at the Jalameh prison in northern Israel after being transferred from Hadarim Prison, located some 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv.
In 2011, Israel swapped more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier who had been held by Hamas for five years.
The start of the strike coincides with the annual Palestinian Prisoners Day, when Palestinians remember detained friends and relatives. Israeli side will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its occupation in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in June 2017.
Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said "Barghouti's strike is motivated by internal Palestinian political motives and therefore includes unreasonable demands regarding prisoner conditions".
Tony Pulis: 'Roberto Firmino goal should not have stood'
Liverpool eventually broke the deadlock in the 46th minute thanks to Firmino who headed in James Milner's free-kick. The Brazilian converted a flick-on from Lucas Leiva to seal a fifth win in their last seven games for Liverpool .
The publication of the article marked the beginning of a hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israel seeking more favorable conditions. Unsurprisingly, Barghouti makes no reference to his role in organizing the second intifada, in which Palestinian militants killed nearly 1,000 Israeli citizens despite the generous peace deal offered to Yasser Arafat.
The Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized Gaza from Mr Abbas in 2007, has called for an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine, including in what is now Israel. They also reportedly discussed the prisoners' demand that Israel "comply with worldwide law" with respect to their treatment. Many Palestinians see Barghouti as a potential future leader of the Palestinian Authority, despite his prison sentence. It accused Israel of "the worst physical and psychological torture" against Palestinian prisoners.
"After exhausting all other options, I decided there was no choice but to resist these abuses by going on a hunger strike", Barghouti wrote.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel protested to the New York Times over the piece.
Palestinians regard the detainees as political prisoners.
Israeli Prison Service (IPS) spokesman Assaf Librati warned that the hunger strikers would face punishment.
Comments