Agreement to be signed within few hours to end Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike: official

Ramallah, May 14 (Xinhua-ANI): Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are expected to sign soon on an Egyptian-mediated deal to end their hunger strike since April 17, a senior Palestinian official said Monday.

Jawad al-Emawi, director general of the Palestinian ministry of prisoners affairs in the West Bank, told Xinhua that an agreement to end the hunger strike would be announced within the coming few hours.

The minister said that the deal was an outcome of intensive talks. He expected Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to end their strike within the coming few hours, after Israeli prison services accept their demands.

"A special prisoners committee in Israeli jails is expected to sign today on the final draft of the agreement, which was brokered by Egypt, and the deal will be immediately implemented," said al- Emawi.

He added that the agreement was accepted by both Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ' Fatah Party in the West Bank.

The deal would include not to renew the administrative detention of current prisoners, end the isolation of prisoners in solitary cells and allow visits by prisoners' families in the Gaza Strip to Israeli prisons.

Israel, meanwhile, said that it is interested to reach an agreement to end the hunger strike, after health conditions of around 40 prisoners deteriorated. (Xinhua-ANI)