The protest was organized to oppose Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories, the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, and the 17-year long blockade of Gaza

Nine Palestinian administrative detainees are on a separate indefinite hunger strike to demand their release and better treatment of fellow prisoners

Representatives of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, often face isolation and threats of expulsion for standing with their fellow Palestinians in the occupied territories

Over 1,000 Palestinians are currently being held under Israel’s administrative detention policy without charge or trial

Walid Daqqa has been inside an Israeli prison since 1986. The 61-year-old needs intensive medical care after being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last year and suffering a blood clot-induced stroke this year in February

Over 1,000 of the nearly 5,000 Palestinian prisoners are administrative detainees who are in Israeli jails without charge or trial. Among them is Khader Adnan, who just completed 71 days of indefinite hunger strike against his wrongful detention inside Israel’s Ramla prison and is facing severe health issues.

The approval comes even as existing Israeli security forces continue their killing spree against Palestinians with two more killed in the occupied territories over the weekend

Prime Minister Netanyahu avoided a split in his ultra right-wing ruling coalition after halting his government’s so-called judicial reforms by agreeing to create a militia that is expected to be used against Palestinians

Palestinian activists and organizations have questioned what kind of democracy Israeli protesters were defending, especially as over 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year with little pushback from Israeli citizens

The hunger strike set to begin on March 22 is part of broader resistance efforts by Palestinian prisoners, including ongoing civil disobedience, against the Israel’s inhumane punitive measures

The proposed law will allow illegal settlers to rebuild and re-occupy settlements in the occupied West Bank dismantled in 2005 as a part of Israel’s so-called unilateral Disengagement plan

The prisoners’ agitation started in response to recent punitive measures introduced by the extremist government in Israel, and is expected to escalate in the coming days into a mass indefinite hunger strike