Thousands of people across the world are on a one-day hunger strike in solidarity with a female Palestinian prisoner refusing food in an Israeli jail.
Hana Shalabi has been on an open-ended hunger strike since she was detained by Israeli forces 27 days ago.
Shalabi is suffering spells of dizziness, muscular wasting and loss of consciousness, her lawyers and medical observers say.
The 30-year-old is held under administrative detention laws, which allow the Israeli military to hold Palestinians on secret evidence without charge or trial for renewable six-month sentences.
The policy has come under attack from human rights groups, with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch saying administrative detention violates international law.
Event organizers expected thousands of people across the world to join in the protests, calling for Israel to respect international human rights.
Student organizations in Europe, including at Edinburgh University, took part in the 12 hour-long fast.
In Palestine hundreds of people clutching pictures of Shalabi gathered outside Ofer Prison near Ramallah, shouting slogans at Israeli soldiers guarding the facility.
Thousands of people expressed support for the campaign on Twitter using the hastags: #GlobalHungerStrike #ArabHungerStrikers and #HanaShalabi
However, several Israelis sparked controversy by taking to the social networking site to call the hunger strikers “terrorists.”
David Ha'ivri, a representative of over 30 illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, claimed Palestinian hunger strikers had murdered Jews, despite Israel not producing evidence to prove the claim.
Another Israeli tweep, @DolpheenaIDF, called for the hunger strikers to be allowed to starve to death to reduce the number of "terrorists."
Shalabi's protest is part of a spreading movement by Palestinian prisoners ignited by Khader Adnan, who ended a near-fatal fast of 66 days in February after Israeli authorities agreed to set a limit on his detention.
Speaking to Al-Akhbar last month, Shalabi's brother Ammar called for Israel to charge or release her.
“They say that she is an activist in Islamic Jihad, but they have arrested her under administrative detention because they have no proof,” he said.
Shalabi was previously held by Israel for 25 months under administrative detention before she was released last October as part of a prisoner swap in which some 1,000 Palestinians were freed in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held in Gaza for five years.
A larger demonstration in front of Ofer Prison is planned for 12pm on Saturday.
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