JERUSALEM – A spokeswoman for Israel's prison service says a Palestinian prisoner refusing to eat food for the past 71 days has been transferred to a civilian hospital.
Sivan Weizman says Thaer Halahleh was hospitalized early Tuesday after he refused to drink water.
Halahleh is the second hunger striker to be transferred. Bilal Diab, also on a 71-day hunger strike, was hospitalized last week.
Some 1,600 Palestinians held by Israel have been refusing food, most for 21 days. They are demanding a halt to open-ended incarceration without trial and solitary confinement. They also want family visits from Gaza.
The strike puts Israel in a bind: Officials don't want to be seen as caving in to the prisoners, but any deaths could unleash a fierce backlash.
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