RAMALLAH, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday received at his office the family of a hunger striking woman held in Israel, accusing Israel not respecting the lives of Palestinian detainees.
The parents of Hana Shalabi came to Abbas' office in the West Bank city of Ramallah after reports said their daughter was taken to the hospital due to her deteriorated health.
30-year-old Shalabi, who has been hunger striking for 34 days, demands an end to her administrative detention, an Israeli rule under which detainees can be held for years without a trial.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas is exerting great efforts towards Shalabi's release.
As an Islamic Jihad member, Shalabi was arrested in February, only three months after being freed along with hundreds of others in a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Hamas, as well as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), condemned an Israeli ruling issued on Monday supporting the administrative detention against another hunger striker.
Ahmad Al-Hajj, a 72-year-old Hamas lawmaker held by Israel since December, entered the sixth day of his hunger strike on Tuesday.
"This decision is completely rejected," said Ziad Abu Ein, deputy minister of prisoners affairs, adding that the PNA is contacting regional and international parties to press Israel to release Al-Hajj and other Palestinian lawmakers.
Israel currently holds 25 Palestinian members of the parliament in detention, 22 of them representing Hamas.
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