Accused of torture, Israel demands Palestinians calm unrest

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel demanded Palestinian leaders quell unrest as protests and clashes rocked the West Bank on Sunday, after the death of a prisoner who the Palestinians claim died under Israeli torture.

Over 4,000 Palestinian prisoners staged, meanwhile, a one-day hunger strike to protest the death on Saturday of Arafat Jaradat, amid widespread street clashes with Israeli security forces.

Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs Issa Qaraqaa accused Israel of torturing Jaradat to death, citing the preliminary findings of an Israeli-Palestinian autopsy.

Israeli prison authorities had initially said he appeared to have died of a heart attack. "The evidence corroborates our suspicion that Jaradat died as a result of torture, especially since the autopsy clearly proved that the victim's heart was healthy," Mr Qaraqaa said in a statement.