Sheikh Yassin continues hunger strike

Founder of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, on Tuesday continued for the second day running his open hunger strike in assertion of his solidarity with the Palestinian political detainees held in Israeli and Palestinian Authority jails.

He asserted that the continuation of these arrests constitutes a grave violation of human rights, the Geneva charter and international law.

In a statement he made on Tuesday to the BBC, Sheikh Yassin stated that his "food strike" aims at diverting the attention of the international community as a whole to the real sufferings of the Palestinian people after losing their legitimate rights. Sheikh Yassin called upon the international community to try to salvage the Palestinian people and restore their usurped rights through working for the release of Palestinian political detainees.

He reiterated his call for the Palestinian Authority to abstain from being dragged "behind the Israeli conspiracy" which aims at dividing the Palestinians. He stressed the need to respond positively to the demands of the Palestinian people and citizens to free the Palestinian detainees.

On Monday Sheikh Yassin (73) started an open-ended hunger strike in objection to the continued arrest of hundreds of Palestinians without trial by Israeli forces and the Palestinian authorities.

Sheikh Yassin's hunger strike aims at giving attention to the cause of Palestinian detainees.