RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 24 (AFP) - Yasser Arafat hit out at the "crimes" being committed daily by Israeli warders against Palestinian prisoners as a hunger strike for better conditions reached its 10th day Tuesday.
A solidarity shutdown ordered by the Palestinian leadership was widely observed across the territories as a prisoners' support group appealed to Pope John Paul II to intervene on their behalf.
"The hunger strike in (Israeli) jails has entered its 10th day and the crimes being committed against our prisoners -- male and female -- can no longer be allowed to pass in silence," the veteran Palestinian leader said after a meeting with Canadian envoy Steve Hibbard.
"I call on the world community and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send delegations to see these crimes with their own eyes and try to bring them to an end," he said.
In his letter to the pope, the Bethlehem-based Palestinian prisoners' association president Issa Qaraqea said inmates were being subjected to "a campaign of repression and unjustifiable violence".
"The policies of the Israeli government are designed to leave the prisoners to die by ignoring their demands and repressing them," the letter said.
Israel's Public Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi has said he is willing to see the prisoners die rather than bow to their demands.
"In the name of the families of the prisoners .. we are asking you to pray for God to protect our prisoners from repression and Israeli terrorism and support efforts to put an end to the murderous policies of the Israeli government."
The pope, who last visited the birthplace of Jesus Christ four years ago, has been a frequent critic of the Israeli government's policies towards the Palestinians, particularly over its West Bank separation barrier.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people took to the streets of the southern West Bank city of Hebron Tuesday in a show of support for the hunger strikers.
Brandishing Palestinian flags and green banners in support of Islamic movements, the protesters brought the centre of the city to a halt at one stage by burning tyres on the roads.
Around half of the estimated 8,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons are observing the open-ended hunger strike.
The prisoners are demanding an across-the-board improvement in their conditions, including statutory visiting rights and an end to "intrusive" body and cell searches.
The solidarity shutdown declared by the Palestinian Authority was widely observed by shopkeepers and government employees but did not stop public transport.