At risk of death: Palestinian Khader Adnan on 72nd day of hunger strike

Palestinian administrative detainee in Israel, Khader Adnan, is facing possible death as he enters the 72nd day of his open ended hunger strike in protest of his continued detention, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said.

This is the longer period Adnan has been on hunger strike, PPS said, adding that he had previously withheld from eating and drinking anything but water for 66 days in 2012 and 56 days in 2015.

The 44-year-old is currently held in Al-Ramla Prison clinic although he is in dire need of hospitalisation, warned the PPS, stating that Israel’s refusal to move him to a hospital aims to cause him chronic diseases that are difficult to treat later.

Adnan, from the town of Arraba, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, was detained on 5 February and immediately went on hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.

In an interview last week, his wife said: “He passes out but not for long periods, he isn’t able to keep his balance, his health is in a very bad state and he’s struggling to breathe. The doctor has said that – God forbid – he may suffer a stroke at any time.”

Adnan was arrested 12 times by the Israeli occupation authorities over the past 20 years for his political and anti-occupation activities and has spent a total of eight years behind bars.

He has been on hunger strike four times

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