Marwan Barghouthi, the imprisoned Fatah leader who led the mass-40 day hunger strike, has called it a ‘turning point’ in the relationship between Palestinian prisoners and Israeli prison officials.

Speaking for the first time since the end of the hunger strike several days ago, Barghouti described the strike as a ‘historic epic in the prisoners’ movement’s record over 50 years,’ and emphasised the ‘harsh and brutal’ treatment of Palestinian prisoners during the hunger strike. This included the transferring of Palestinians between Israeli prisons and into solitary confinement.

‘The prisoners were deprived of all sanitary and hygiene materials, turning their lives into hell and releasing shameful rumors and lies,’ he said.

Around 1,500 Palestinian prisoners launched the hunger strike on April 17, in one of the largest strikes over the decades, calling for an end to the denial of family visits, the right to pursue higher education, appropriate medical care and treatment, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention, alongside other basic rights.

There are currently 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including more than 500 administrative detainees, according to Jerusalem-based prisoner rights group Addameer.

The strike ended after talks held with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Authority concluded in an agreement with Israel, allowing prisoners to receive two visitors per month. While Palestinian leaders have claimed that 80 percent of the prisoners’ demands were met by Israel, Israel Prison Service (IPS) officials have strongly denied the statements.

However, Barghouthi noted that the prisoners had agreed to the formation of a committee of senior officials of the Prison Service, ‘to discuss all issues without exception,’ over the next few days. He went on to warn Israeli authorities that prisoners would resume their strike if their commitments were not fulfilled.

“In light of this and with the coming of the holy month of Ramadan, we have decided to suspend the strike to give the opportunity to carry out these discussions with the Prison Service, emphasizing our strong readiness to resume the strike if the Prison Service does not fulfill its commitments made to the prisoners,” he said.

Israeli authorities had initially refused to negotiate with Barghouthi up until the 11th hour of negotiations between IPS, the PA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while the hunger strikers had insisted that any negotiations that did not include Barghouthi were illegitimate and "aimed at breaking the hunger strike in exchange for empty promises.”

Barghouti was convicted for his involvement in the second Palestinian Intifada, and sentenced in 2004 to five life terms. Surveys show many Palestinians want him to be their next president.