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Following the death of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail, militants in Gaza fired over 20 rockets into Israel. Three foreign workers were injured in the attack, prompting Israeli tanks to shell Gaza in response. Adnan, who was a senior figure in Islamic Jihad and had been charged with terrorism offenses, had refused medical care during his 87-day strike, according to Israeli authorities.
However, one of his lawyers accused them of medical negligence, and the Palestinian prime minister described his death as a “deliberate assassination”. The rocket fire was claimed to be “an initial response to this heinous crime” by an umbrella group representing militant groups in Gaza, including Islamic Jihad. The Israel Defense Forces reported 16 rockets had landed in open areas, with one hitting a building site in the southern Israeli city of Sderot and injuring three foreign workers.
Adnan, who had been in and out of detention by Israel over the past two decades, had been on a hunger strike four times before in protest. This is believed to have been the first such death in three decades, and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails often take a stand by refusing food. Adnan began his fifth hunger strike immediately after being detained by Israeli forces at his home in Arraba, near the city of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank, on 5 February.
Israeli authorities accused him of supporting terrorism, affiliation with a terrorist group, and incitement, and he was due to go on trial this month. The Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer said he was being held on “spurious charges intended to further suppress Palestinian activists”. The fate of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is a top issue for Palestinians, who hold Israel responsible for their well-being.
According to Addameer, there are around 4,900 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, with most serving sentences after being convicted by Israeli courts or are being held for questioning, charged, or awaiting or standing trial. Another 1,016 are in “administrative detention,” a controversial measure under which suspects are held indefinitely without charge or trial for renewable six-month periods. Palestinians regard all those held by Israel as political prisoners.
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Source: Omanghana.com
