Twenty Palestinian children imprisoned in Hasharon prison have entered their second week of hunger strike, activists have reported.

The twenty hunger strikers, all aged under 18, launched an open hunger strike last week to protest prison conditions and the prison administration’s neglect of their demands.

17-years-old Ahmed Lafi, who is amongst the hunger strikers, told the Ministry of the prisoners in Gaza that 20 detained children started an open hunger strike. Ahmed Lafi said that “the prison administration continues to torture and humiliate the child prisoners”. He also mentioned the fact that prisoners are still not allowed to have visits despite the agreement reached last month between the strike leadership committee and the prison administration or to pursue their study whilst in prison.

The 17-year-old said that those who dare protest prison living conditions are sent to solitary confinement. He also mentioned the use of "extreme torture methods" by Israeli intelligence to extract confessions from the children.

According to activists, there are 190 Palestinian children under the age of 18 imprisoned in Israeli jails. Their treatment is no different to that of adult prisoners, rights groups say.