The European Union (EU) expressed concern Saturday over the deteriorating health of four Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli detention. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a statement also called on Israel to respect its human rights obligations towards all Palestinians in custody. She was "following with concern reports about the deteriorating health condition of Ayman Sharawna, Samer Issawi, Jafar Ezzedin and Tareq Qaa'dan, Palestinians in Israeli detention who have been on an extended hunger strike," the statement was quoted as saying by DPA. The four prisoners have been refusing food - one of them for more than 200 days - in an effort to secure their release.