Israel agrees to release hunger striker after 66 days

An Israeli court has agreed to release Khader Adnan after 66 days of his hunger strike, which he started in protest at his imprisonment under so-called “administrative detention”. The Israeli Justice Ministry said that Adnan, a leading member of the Islamic Jihad Movement, would be released in April. Adnan’s hunger strike was the longest ever staged by a Palestinian.

In a telephone conversation with the media, Adnan’s wife, Umm Abdul Rahman, said that she was notified by both the Prisoners’ Ministry in Ramallah and the Palestinian Prisoner Society that the Israeli Supreme Court decided not to renew her husband’s administrative detention order. This means that he will be released on 17 April after serving 4 months behind bars.

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The Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs in the Palestinian government in Ramallah, Issa Qaraqei, said that Adnan ended his hunger strike when he heard the news from the court. Qaraqei added that Mr. Adnan is still in an Israeli hospital due to his poor state of health; he will be nursed back to good health over the coming weeks.

A press conference will be held by the Palestinian Prisoner Society in the protest tent that was set up in solidarity with Adnan in his home town of Araba near Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Speakers will include the head of the society, Qadoura Fares, Minister Qaraqei and Adnan’s lawyer, Jawad Boulos.