Khader Adnan, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli imprisonment policies, died Tuesday, May 2, following an 87-day hunger strike, according to officials.
Adnan, 45, had been on hunger strike since his arrest on February 5, and he had refused medical checks while in jail, according to the Israeli Prison Service in a statement announcing his death.
He was discovered dead in his cell early Tuesday after a nearly three-month hunger strike, according to the prison service.
Adnan’s death was also confirmed by the Palestinian Prisoners Society, which stated that “the Israeli occupation assassinated Sheikh Khader Adnan.”
According to Israeli police, he was seized in February on suspicion of participation in a terrorist group, support for terrorism, and incitement. As of the time of his death, he had not been tried in court.
According to Islamic Jihad, “Commander Khader Adnan rose as a martyr in a crime for which the Zionist occupation bears full and direct responsibility.”
The Palestinian militant group is responsible for the killings of scores of people in Israel in suicide bombings and rocket attacks.
Adnan was from Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Following news of his death, Palestinian political parties announced a general strike in the West Bank Tuesday in mourning for Adnan, shutting down schools, universities and shops.
There were also reports of three rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory, which landed in open areas, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of carrying out a “deliberate assassination… by refusing his request to release him, neglecting him medically and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition.”
Adnan first drew international notice during a 66-day hunger strike that ended in February 2012, making it the longest known hunger strike by a Palestinian detainee in Israeli prisons at the time.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, he has been detained at least 11 times since 2004, and he has participated in five hunger strikes. He embarked on a hunger strike for 55 days in 2015 before being freed by Israeli authorities.
Adnan spent eight years in Israeli jails, the majority of which were spent under administrative detention, a contentious Israeli military system that allows authorities to imprison inmates indefinitely on security grounds. The method also permits for detention based on secret evidence, and there is no necessity to prosecute or try the inmates.
Israel has 4,900 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, with 1,000 of them being held in administrative detention without charge, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.