Israel has released a Palestinian prisoner whose lengthy hunger strike helped spark major protests in the Occupied Territories. Samer Issawi was initially released under the 2011 deal that freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, only to be re-arrested and returned to an Israeli prison last year. Issawi staged a hunger strike that spanned eight months and fueled solidarity actions by other Palestinian prisoners and rallies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Issawi ended his hunger strike in April after Israel agreed to set him free in return.