Palestinians mark Prisoners' Day

Hamas and Fatah have joined crowds of Palestinians in calling on Israel to free thousands of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails. Representatives of the rival factions staged a protest and 24-hour fast outside the Gaza City offices of the Red Cross on Saturday to mark what is known as "Prisoners' Day". Ismail Haniya, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, joined the crowd briefly, calling for Palestinian reconciliation. He urged all Palestinians to fight Israel's occupation "by any means" and pressure Israel to free its Palestinian prisoners. Raafat Hamdouna, a Fatah representative, echoed his call, saying the two sides "must put aside anything that can harm our unity", the AFP news agency reported. They were joined by international activists and relatives of detainees who gathered across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to honour the prisoners.