Over 350 Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails are going on hunger strike in protest at increasing Israeli harassment and repression.

On Thursday, Hamas spokesman Abdulrahman Shadid declared that over 300 Hamas prisoners had on Wednesday launched a hunger strike in protest at mounting Israeli abuse and arbitrary transfers in addition to daily storming and search operations.

“This strike is open-ended and will not stop until the dignity of prisoners is restored and punitive measures are stopped,” Shadid underscored.

On Friday, deputy chairman of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniya called for Arab and international diplomatic efforts to stop the “reckless Israeli escalation against prisoners”.

“We demand an urgent UN General Assembly session to formulate a verdict to provide protection for our prisoners,” he said during his Friday sermon in Gaza.

Haniya stressed that the Palestinian resistance will never forsake the prisoners in Israeli jails will use everything in its hands to extract their freedom.

He urged Palestinians to stand united behind the hunger-striking prisoners until they achieve victory over Israeli repression.

On Friday evening, Hundreds of Palestinians and Hamas supporters participated in a demonstration in Gaza in solidarity with the hunger strikers.

In the meanwhile, Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed has been on an open-ended hunger strike for over 51 days in protest at his continuous detention after he had completed a 15-year sentence.

About 40 prisoners affiliated with the PFLP continue a hunger strike the started in different jails in solidarity with Kayid.

Over 7000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli occupation prisons serving various terms, including nearly 400 minors and over 700 so-called administrative detainees held arbitrarily without charges.