More than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have been on hunger strike since mid-April, protesting against the apartheid Israeli regime which holds them in its jails, many without charge or trial. Two of the prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have been refusing food for more than 60 days and are reportedly close to death. There has been almost complete silence from the BBC and other news media - media which is always quick to report when a rocket is fired from besieged Gaza into Israel.