Khader Adnan, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) official in the West Bank, has been on hunger strike in Israeli prison for 77 days, his family said over the weekend.
Adnan, 44, was one of the organizers of recent hunger strikes launched by Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails.
A mass hunger strike by the security prisoners that was supposed to begin on March 22 was called off at the last minute after the inmates claimed they reached an understanding with the Israel Prison Service. The hunger strike was called to protest a series of “punitive measures” imposed on the prisoners, including reducing the time for showers and closing bakeries managed by the inmates.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club and the family warned that Adnan, who was arrested by the Israeli security forces on February 5, was in critical condition and could die at any moment.
Adnan, a resident of the town of Arrabeh, near Jenin, went on a hunger strike immediately after his arrest.
On Thursday, Adnan’s family staged a sit-in strike in the center of Ramallah to call for his release from Israeli prison. His wife, Randa, told reporters that the sit-in strike would continue until her husband is released from prison.
Adnan previously spent a total of eight years in Israeli prison on charges related to his activities on behalf of PIJ. He was arrested as part of an Israeli security crackdown on PIJ terrorists and infrastructure in the northern West Bank.
In the past, Adnan went on at least five hunger strikes in protest of his administrative detention (without trial).
Adnan 'at risk of martyrdom,' Palestinian Prisoners Club warns
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Adnan “is at risk of martyrdom at any moment.” It said that the inmate was refusing to take any medicine or undergo medical tests.
PIJ officials warned that Israel would “pay a heavy price” should Adnan die in prison.
“Our message to the Zionist enemy is that you will pay the price for harming the life of Sheikh Khader Adnan,” said senior PIJ official Khaled al-Batsh. He claimed that by arresting Adnan, the Israeli authorities were trying to prevent him from “fulfilling his national and social role” among the Palestinians.