Ramallah, May 22 (RHC)-- More than 220 Palestinian prisoners have joined the "Freedom and Dignity" mass hunger strike which began last month.  The mass protest action began on April 17th in response to a call by Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader, over inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons. 

The strikers are demanding basic rights, such as an end to the policies of administrative detention, solitary confinement and deliberate medical negligence.  The much criticized administrative detention is a policy under which Palestinian inmates are kept in Israeli detention facilities without trial or charge. 

The media committee set up to support the hunger striking prisoners released a statement on Sunday announcing that the new Palestinian prisoners from various political factions had joined the estimated 1,800 hunger strikers. 

The committee also urged media outlets to “remain cautious” when dealing with information on negotiations between prisoners and Israeli authorities.  Last week, reports emerged over talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials aimed at ending the strike.  The talks were later denied by both sides.  

Meanwhile, activists have also announced that several of the Palestinian prisoners had been moved to a civilian hospital after falling into a critical health condition.