Ramallah protest for hunger-striking terrorists
Ramallah protest for hunger-striking terroristsFlash 90

Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) vowed on Tuesday not to negotiate with hundreds of jailed Arab terrorists on the second day of a hunger strike led by convicted murderer and terrorist mastermind Marwan Barghouti.

More than 1,000 Arab terrorists jailed in Israel for attacks on Israelis or involvement in terrorist organizations launched the hunger strike on Monday, issuing a lengthy list of demands.

Issa Qaraqe, head of prisoner affairs for the Palestinian Authority, said on Monday that around 1,300 terrorists were on hunger strike and the number could rise.

Another organization, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, put the number of hunger strikers at 1,500.

A spokesman for the Israel Prisons Service said around 1,100 terrorist prisoners started the hunger strike and roughly the same number were believed to be continuing on Tuesday.

Erdan vowed that Israel would not negotiate with the terrorists, and said that Barghouti had been moved to another prison and placed in solitary confinement.

"They are terrorists and incarcerated murderers who are getting what they deserve and we have no reason to negotiate with them," Erdan told Army Radio.

Barghouti was placed in solitary confinement after he published a New York Times opinion piece decrying the State of Israel, its security apparatus, and his own imprisonment for his five murder convictions.

A senior member of the Fatah Tanzim terror group, Barghouti was arrested during the Second Intifada for directing a spate of suicide bombings and shooting attacks which left 26 people dead.

In 2004, Barghouti was convicted of murder in 5 of those 26 cases, along with membership in a terrorist organization. He is currently serving five life sentences for his crimes.

AFP contributed to this report.