Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who became an icon of Palestinian Resistance to Israeli detention policies, died in prison early on Tuesday after an 87-day hunger strike, Israeli authorities announced.
Israeli prison administration reported that Adnan was found unconscious in his isolation room at the Ramleh prison and was then pronounced dead at the Assaf Harofeh hospital.
Islamic Jihad Warns Israel over Possible Death of Hunger Striker Khader Adnan
The 44-year-old, from the town of Arraba, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, was detained on February 5 and immediately went on hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Samidoun, Israeli authorities had “charged him with membership in Islamic Jihad and giving political speeches (‘incitement’) before their military courts”.
BREAKING: Palestinian Prisoner Khader Adnan in Critical Condition
“The Israeli prison administration refused to transfer him to a civilian hospital and refused his release on bail just last week, declaring that more information was needed about his medical condition,” according to Samidoun.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, Adnan has been arrested at least 11 times since 2004 and held five hunger strikes.
That included a 55-day strike in 2015 to protest his arrest under so-called administrative detention, in which suspects are held indefinitely without charge or trial.
Activists in Gaza Rally for Daqqa, Adnan and Thousands of Palestinian Prisoners (PHOTOS)
Shortly after his death was announced, Palestinian Resistance groups in the Graza Strip fired a volley of rockets toward southern Israel.
Palestinians also called for a general strike, as protests erupted in the besieged Gaza and in the Occupied West Bank.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
