Islamic Jihad leader dies in Israeli custody after three-month hunger strike

A high-profile Palestinian prisoner died in Israeli custody on Tuesday after a nearly three-month hunger strike, the Israel Prison Service announced, at a time of already rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

Khader Adnan, a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad group, had begun organizing protracted hunger strikes more than a decade ago, introducing a new form of protest against Israel’s mass detention of Palestinians without charge or trial.

On Tuesday, the 45-year-old, who leaves behind nine children, became the first long-term hunger striker to die in Israeli custody.

Palestinians called for a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with protests expected later in the day.

Palestinian militants responded by firing a volley of rockets from Gaza into empty fields in Israel, while Islamic Jihad said in a statement that “our struggle continues and will not stop.”

Adnan’s death comes as Israel is led by the most right-wing government ever.

Prisons and Palestinian prisoners are under the supervision of Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultra-nationalist politician who has previously tightened restrictions on Palestinian prisoners, including reducing their shower time and closing prison bakeries.

Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday that prison officials must show “zero tolerance to hunger strikes and unrest in secure prisons” and ordered prisoners to be locked in their cells.

As Israeli-Palestinian violence has peaked, the number of administrative detainees has risen to more than 1,000 in the past year, the highest number in two decades.

For administrative detainees, hunger strikes are often the last resort. Several went on hunger strikes for months, often falling dangerously ill. Previous Israeli governments have at times conceded to some of their demands to prevent deaths in custody.

This time, warnings about Adnan’s deteriorating health were ignored, the advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights Israel said.

The group and Adnan’s lawyer said they had asked Israeli authorities to move him from his cell to a hospital where his condition could best be monitored. The rights group said a doctor who visited Adnan a few days ago warned that his life was in danger.

“We place the responsibility for his death on the Israeli authorities,” said Dana Moss of the rights group. “Hunger strikes are one of the few non-violent tools Palestinians have left to fight against Israel’s unfair justice system, which is set in a context of prolonged occupation and an apartheid regime.”

Dawood Shahab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, called Adnan’s death “a full-fledged crime, for which the Israeli occupation bears full and direct responsibility.”

In the West Bank, Mohammed Shtayyeh, the prime minister of the Palestinian self-governing government, also held Israel responsible.

He portrayed Adnan’s death as “premeditated murder by refusing his request for release, medically neglecting him and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition.”

Israel’s Prison Service said Adnan had been charged with “involvement in terrorist activities.” It said he was in a medical prison but had refused medical treatment “until the last minute” as the court proceedings continued.

It said he was found unconscious in his cell early Tuesday and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

About 200 people gathered outside Adnan’s home in the occupied West Bank town of Arraba, holding placards bearing his image and calling for revenge.

Adnan’s widow, Randa Musa, told those gathered outside that “we don’t want a single drop of bloodshed” in response to his death.

“We don’t want any rocket launches or another attack on Gaza,” she told the crowd.

Palestinian prisoners are seen as national heroes and any perceived threat to them while in Israeli detention can lead to tension or violence. Israel sees Adnan and other Palestinian prisoners as security threats, accused of involvement in deadly attacks or plots.

Over the past decade, Adnan has become a household name in the Palestinian territories as a symbol of steadfastness against Israel’s indefinite occupation, now in its 56th year.

He has organized several lengthy hunger strikes over the years, including a 66-day protest in 2012, and two other strikes in 2015 and 2018 that lasted 56 and 58 days respectively. Israel released Adnan after the 2015 strike.

He is credited with turning hunger strikes into a tool of protests by Palestinian prisoners and a useful bargaining chip against Israeli authorities.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, Adnan was arrested 12 times and spent about eight years in Israeli prisons, most of that time under administrative detention.

The number of administrative detainees has increased over the past year as Israel has carried out near-night arrests in the West Bank in the wake of a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel in early 2022.

Israel says the controversial tactic helps authorities thwart attacks and detain dangerous militants without releasing incriminating material for security reasons.

Palestinians and rights groups say the system is widely abused and denies due process, with the classified nature of the evidence making it impossible for administrative detainees or their lawyers to defend themselves.

Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank have been embroiled in fighting for the past year. About 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and 49 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

On Tuesday, Israeli officials said an Israeli man was slightly injured in a suspected Palestinian shooting in the West Bank.