Princeton University students end anti-Israel hunger strike 'due to health concerns'
Students at Princeton University protesting Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza have called an end to their hunger strike after just 10 days.
Princeton Divest Now, the student protest group that is calling for the New Jersey Ivy League university to divest from America’s Middle Eastern ally due to the high civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip, said additional strikers would be continuing their efforts.
"Due to health concerns of the 13 strikers who fasted for 10 days, the first hunger strike wave ended, and the second wave has begun," it wrote in a post shared on Instagram.
It added: "In the tradition of rotary strikes, seven new strikers are indefinitely fasting for a free Palestine."
HEZBOLLAH TERROR FLAG FOUND AT PRINCETON'S ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT, CRUZ TORCHES THE PROTESTERS
The end of the "hunger strike" came after members initially vowed not to eat or drink again until a pair of demands were met.
"Participants will abstain from all food and drink (except water) until our demands are met. We commit our bodies to their liberation of Palestine. PRINCETON, hear us now! We will not be moved!" the group wrote in a post on May 3.
The post included the demands: "(1) Meet with students to discuss their demands for disclosure, divestment, and a full academic and cultural boycott of Israel; (2) Grant complete amnesty from all criminal and disciplinary charges for participants of the peaceful sit-in. Reverse all campus bans and evictions of students."
Students at the university are not the only ones who went without food since an encampment formed on the campus to protest Israel’s military campaign to eradicate Hamas, as faculty apparently participated in a 24-hour hunger strike.
The faculty's 24-hour hunger strike, which began on Friday morning at 10 a.m., ended Saturday.
"Our daylong solidarity fast is meant to emphasize the efforts of our students who are undertaking this strike, putting their bodies on the line to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza and the West Bank, who are being subjected to a forced famine and a genocidal assault by the state of Israel," a faculty member said at a presser on Friday.
The brevity of the 24-hour hunger strike was mocked on social media and many related the strike to intermittent fasting, a dietary trend where participants go without food for lengthy periods of a day.
"24 hours?! I do this once a week for f---ing fun. This is embarrassing," one person tweeted on X.
"I do 3/4 of a Princeton faculty hunger strike EVERY DAY!" another X user wrote.
"I am commencing a hunger strike between now and breakfast. Estimated duration of hunger strike: 10 hours. Join me. Be strong," a third commentator joked.
The student protest group has announced it will hold its next rally at Princeton on Monday, May 13.
Fox News' Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
Original article source: Princeton University students end anti-Israel hunger strike 'due to health concerns'
