WEST BANK-PRISONER HUNGER STRIKE Palestinians express concern for prisoner on hunger strike in Israel

Record ID: 151961

  • Title: WEST BANK-PRISONER HUNGER STRIKE Palestinians express concern for prisoner on hunger strike in Israel
  • Date: 23rd June 2015
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JUNE 22, 2015) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA34F359MASAG4WEZSG747KBM3K
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITOR PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MOBILE PHONE FOOTAGE
    Palestinian officials and the family of Palestinian prisoner, Khader Adnan of the Islamic Jihad militant group, expressed fears over his life as his hunger strike enters its 50th day on Tuesday (June 23).
    Adnan, 37, has been refusing food and drinking only water for 50 days, demanding an end to his detention without trial.
    He was arrested last July when soldiers took him from his home in Arrabeh, a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank.
    Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Minister, Essa Quraqe accused the Israeli authorities of intending to kill Khader.
    "I assure you that it seems Israeli intelligence decided to kill the prisoner Khader Adnan and it leaves him now in this situation without negotiations or even tries to find a solution for his administrative detention. This disrespect and apathy after 50 days, shows that they intend to kill the prisoner Khader Adnan," he told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday (June 22).
    Adnan went on a hunger strike for 66 days during a previous detention period in 2012, the longest such Palestinian protest by a prisoner. It ended when Israeli authorities promised to release him.
    Adnan's father Adnan Musa called on the Palestinian prisoners to join Adnan's hunger strike to pressure the Israeli authorities to release him and improve conditions of prisoners.
    "Everyday that passes with my son Khader during his hunger strike feels like a year. One can hardly fast from sunrise to sunset and drink 2-3 litres of water, imagine a prisoner who breaks his fast with water," said Musa.
    Israel's High Court has upheld the administrative detention procedure for decades, siding with the government's argument that detention without trial is a necessary security measure that can be used to avoid exposing confidential information in trials.
    In Adnan's previous arrest, Israel had not accused him of direct involvement in attacks by Islamic Jihad, which is sworn to the Jewish state's destruction. He was not charged with any crime. The reasons for his detention were kept secret, other than a brief Israeli army statement saying he was arrested for "activities that threaten regional security."
    Israel's use of a decades-old policy of detaining some Palestinians without formal charge has drawn international criticism.
    The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories B'tseelem research director, Yael Stein, said there are 400 prisoners in Israeli jails under administrative detention.
    "Israel is using all kinds of measures when putting somebody in administrative detention. First of all, the whole procedure is secret. The detainee himself does not know why he is sitting in jail, he does not know what is the accusation against him, he can not defend himself because he does not know anything. He does not know for how long the detention is going to be, so if you look at Khader Adnan he had six months and then another six months. So at the end of the first six months, he was hoping to be released and then on the same day they announced that they are going to extend it," said Stein.
    Earlier this month, Israel's cabinet approved a proposed law that would enable authorities to force-feed Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike, a practice opposed by the country's medical association.
    But Israel's Medical Association, which considers force-feeding a form of torture and medically risky, has urged Israeli doctors not to abide by the law if it is passed.
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