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Palestinian prisoners in Israel end hunger strike

FILE - In this Saturday, June 21, 2014 file photo, Israeli soldiers patrol as they search for three missing Israeli teens, feared abducted in the West Bank June 12, 2014, in the village of Beit Kahil near the West Bank city of Hebron. Thousands of Israeli soldiers have been combing the West Bank inch by inch, searching homes, crawling into caves and even pumping wells to try to find three teens who Israel says were abducted by the Islamic militant Hamas. But nearly two weeks into Israel's most extensive military operation in the West Bank in a decade, there's no sign of the missing. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File) FILE - In this Saturday, June 21, 2014 file photo, Israeli soldiers patrol as they search for three missing Israeli teens, feared abducted in the West Bank June 12, 2014, in the village of Beit Kahil near the West Bank city of Hebron. Thousands of Israeli soldiers have been combing the West Bank inch by inch, searching homes, crawling into caves and even pumping wells to try to find three teens who Israel says were abducted by the Islamic militant Hamas. But nearly two weeks into Israel's most extensive military operation in the West Bank in a decade, there's no sign of the missing. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

By Associated Press June 25, 2014 1 min read

JERUSALEM (AP) – A Palestinian official says about 80 Palestinian prisoners have ended their hunger strike after 63 days, after reaching a deal with Israel.

Minister of Prisoner Affairs Shawqi Al-Aissa says the hunger strike ended on Wednesday. He wouldn’t elaborate on the deal struck with the Israel Prison Authority.

Since 2012, Palestinian prisoners have staged a series of hunger strikes, sometimes as individuals and sometimes in larger groups to protest “administrative detention,” a policy that can keep some prisoners in custody for months without charges.

Israel has defended the practice as a necessary tool to stop militant activity.

About 5,000 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel for offenses ranging from rock throwing to deadly militant attacks. Of those, some 190 are administrative detainees.

The latest hunger strike was launched April 24.