Palestinians call for release of thousands in Israeli jail

Palestinians held rallies and vigils in an annual day of support yeserday for the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, a day after a detainee died in custody.
In the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniya, the head of the Islamist Hamas movement's government, called on Palestinians to fight Israeli occupation "by any means" to put pressure on Israel to free the prisoners.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, about 1,000 people marched through the centre, carrying pictures of imprisoned relatives or of Marwan Barghuti, a jailed leader of the mainstream Fatah party.
Barghuti, architect of the 2000 uprising against Israeli occupation, is serving five life terms but remains popular and is often spoken of as a successor to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
"We shall not rest until the prisoners issue is resolved," prisoners' affairs minister Issa Qaraqae told the crowd in Ramallah.