Chader Adnan has been imprisoned in Israel several times – often without official charges. The senior member of Islamic Jihad repeatedly went on hunger strikes to force his release.
A senior member of the Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad has died in Israeli custody after nearly three months on a hunger strike. A spokesman for the Israeli prison authorities said on Tuesday that 44-year-old Chader Adnan was found unconscious in his cell. During attempts to revive him, he was taken to a hospital, but was pronounced dead there.
The Islamist from Jenin in the West Bank began the hunger strike on February 5 after his arrest for terrorism-related offences, the Israeli spokesman said. He was imprisoned for suspected membership in a terrorist organization and support for terrorism and hate speech. It is already his tenth prison term in Israel. Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtaje accused Israel of “deliberately killing” Adnan “by rejecting his demand for his release, by neglecting him medically and by leaving him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health.” The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also blamed Israel for his death and called for an international investigation into the circumstances. Palestinians called a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Rocket fire in protest
Palestinian militants fired three rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Tuesday morning in protest after Adnan’s death. According to the Israeli military, the projectiles did not land in inhabited areas.
A senior jihadist in the Gaza Strip said Israel was held responsible for the “assassination” of Adnan. “The enemy will pay the price for this crime,” he said. The Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, made a similar statement and announced: “Our people with all their forces and factions will escalate all forms of resistance with all means and instruments and oppose the crimes of the occupying power against prisoners and detainees.”
According to the Israel Prisons Authority, Adnan was a married father of three children. Palestinian media, on the other hand, spoke of nine children. The Islamist had been repeatedly arrested by Israeli security forces in the past and held in custody without official charges.
Adnan was released in 2015 after a life-threatening hunger strike. In February 2012, too, Adnan ended a 66-day hunger strike after reaching an agreement with Israel. With the action he protested against his so-called administrative detention in Israel. Those affected can be detained for six months or longer without charge for security reasons.
This time, however, the legal situation was different, according to Israeli sources, because Adnan had been officially charged with terrorist offenses before a military court. A similar deal about a release as in the past was therefore not possible before the end of the process, the prison authorities said. There was a well-equipped medical facility in the detention center and he was regularly taken to a civilian hospital. However, Adnan refused any medical treatment or tests. “Apparently, the only choice for him was release or death.”
Source: Stern
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