Watch: Bethlehem clashes break out during hunger strike rally
Tensions flare in Bethlehem between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces.
By REUTERSClashes break out between Israeli forces and Palestinians during a rally held in Bethlehem. (Reuters)
Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli forces in Bethlehem in the West Bank on Monday during a rally in support of a hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails.Prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a possible future Palestinian president, called for the strike, which started on Monday and also prompted a large rally in Gaza.Palestinians termed the open-ended strike a protest against poor conditions and an Israeli policy of detention without trial that has been applied against thousands since the 1980s.Israel said the move by the prisoners, many of whom were convicted of attacks or planning attacks against Israel, was politically motivated. Israel denies Palestinian inmates are mistreated.