More than 13 thousand people across the globe have signed a petition demanding immediate release of all hunger striking Palestinian inmates under administrative detention in Israeli jails.

The petition on Change.org---with more than 13,400 signatures as of Monday -- called for the immediate release of all hunger strikers and other ‘administrative’ detainees in Israel’s prisons.

The administrative detention is a type of imprisonment without formal charge or trial, often of a length of one to six months that is indefinitely renewable. It is in sheer violation of International Humanitarian Law and is often used to target and silence Palestinian activists, protesters or anyone who shows dissent against the Israeli regime.

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in Israeli jails. Over 540 of these inmates have apparently been held in administrative detention, with some of them staying in jail for up to 11 years.
Israeli jail authorities keep Palestinian prisoners under deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic standards. The inmates have also been subjected to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express their outrage at the practice.