By IANS,
Ramallah/Gaza : Hundreds of Palestinian women Thursday celebrated International Women’s Day by protesting in solidarity with a female hunger striker jailed by Israel.
The protests were held in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to mark the 22nd day of Hana Shalabi’s hunger strike, reported Xinhua.
In the West Bank, the demonstrators marched to Qalandya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas.
In Gaza, the women gathered in the Unknown Soldier Park, waving Palestinian flags and posters for Shalabi.
Shalabi, who comes from the West Bank, demands an end to her administrative detention, under which prisoners can be held for years without a trial.
Shalabi, an Islamic Jihad member, was arrested in February, about three months after she was freed along with hundreds of others under a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Gaza- based Islamic Hamas movement.
On Feb 21, an Islamic Jihad leader jailed by Israel, Khader Adnan, stopped hunger striking on the 66th day after Israel agreed not to extend or renew his administrative detention which ends in April.
Israel holds about 5,000 Palestinians, 309 of whom are on administrative detention.