The Israeli Prison Service said a Palestinian prisoner died in the early morning hours of May 2 after a nearly 3-month hunger strike. Khader Adnan he went on strike shortly after being arrested on 5 February. Adnan, accused by Israel of belonging to the Islamic Jihad militant group, had gone on several hunger strikes after previous arrests.
The first strike in 2015
These include 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. The Israel Prison Service said Adnan this time was charged with “involvement in terrorist activities” but refused medical treatment as legal proceedings progressed.
Khader Adnan’s death increases the potential for conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups at a time of already heightened tensions. Shortly after his death was announced, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel.
Twenty-two rockets were fired on the afternoon of Tuesday 2 May from Gaza towards southern Israel: one fell on a construction site in Sderot, where one is seriously injured. The military radio said that the alarm sirens had sounded in the area shortly before. The military spokesman added that four rockets were intercepted in flight by the Iron Dome defense system while the others fell on Israeli territory.
The arrest of February 5, 2023
Adnan, 45, went on strike shortly after being arrested on February 5. A member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, he protested his arrest in 2015 under so-called administrative detention, in which suspects are held indefinitely without charge or trial. Several Palestinians have gone on prolonged hunger strikes in recent years to protest administrative detention.