Shops were shuttered in East Jerusalem on Thursday in solidarity with scores of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to protest their ongoing detention-without-trial by the Zionist entity.

Shops were shuttered in East Jerusalem on Thursday in solidarity with scores of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to protest their ongoing detention-without-trial by the Zionist entity.

Young Palestinians patrolled the streets of the holy city to ensure that shops were closed.

The strike was organized by all Palestinian factions in East Jerusalem.Only bakeries and pharmacies remained open in the city, in line with a tradition followed since the second intifada (2000-2005) – one of two major uprisings to erupt against the Zionist occupation.

For more than seven weeks, scores of Palestinian "administrative" detainees have waged a hunger strike to protest their ongoing detention without charge.
They have been joined by scores of other Palestinian prisoners in a show of solidarity.

Palestinians plan to stage a protest outside the Red Cross offices in East Jerusalem later Thursday in hopes of drawing international attention to their cause.

Around 5000 Palestinians continue to languish in more than 20 detention facilities throughout Occupied Territories, according to a report by the Prisoners Center for Studies and Research, a Palestinian NGO.