Khader Adnan, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, died on May 2, following an 87-day hunger strike in an Israeli prison. Adnan, aged 45, had been on hunger strike since his arrest on February 5 and refused to undergo medical check-ups while in detention. The Israeli Prison Service found him dead in his cell on Tuesday after his almost three-month hunger strike.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society also announced his death, accusing the Israeli occupation of “assassinating” Adnan. According to Israeli authorities, he had been detained in February on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation, support for terrorism, and incitement.
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However, he had not been tried in court at the time of his death. Adnan had been on hunger strike for 66 days in 2012 and had been arrested at least 11 times since 2004, with five hunger strikes. He spent eight years in Israeli jails, mostly under administrative detention, a controversial Israeli military procedure that allows authorities to hold detainees indefinitely on security grounds.
Following news of his death, Palestinian political parties announced a general strike in the West Bank on May 3, shutting down schools, universities, and shops. There were also reports of three rocket launches from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory, which landed in open areas, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
