A high-profile Palestinian prisoner died in Israeli detention on Tuesday following a nearly three-month hunger strike. According to Israel’s prison service, at a time when tensions between Israel and the Palestinians are already high.
Khader Adnan, a senior in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, is the first Palestinian prisoner to die. Since approximately a decade ago, when Palestinian inmates began waging protracted hunger strikes. His death after an 86-day hunger strike raises the prospect of further conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant organisations in the West Bank, where violence is on the rise.
Palestinian militants in Gaza launched a barrage of missiles into southern Israel shortly after his death was announced. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip called for a countrywide strike, and protests were expected later in the day.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s ultranationalist minister in charge of prisons. Upped the alert level in certain facilities as a precautionary measure against rioting, according to his office.
Years Of Hunger Strike
For years, Palestinian prisoners have gone on long hunger strikes to protest their confinement and to press Israel for concessions. The technique has become the last line of defence against what Palestinians regard as unjust imprisonment. By withholding nourishment, the convicts frequently become severely ill, but deaths are uncommon.
Adnan’s death, according to Dawood Shahab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman. It was “a full-fledged crime, for which the Israeli occupation bears full and direct responsibility.”
Around 200 people gathered outside Adnan’s house in Arraba. An occupied West Bank town, holding signs bearing his image and calling for vengeance. Randa Musa, Adnan’s widow, told people gathered outside that “we do not want a single drop of bloodshed” in response to her husband’s death.
“We do not want rockets or a subsequent strike on Gaza,” she exhorted the crowd in a passionate speech.
Palestinian detainees are regarded as national heroes, and any perceived threat to them while in Israeli custody can spark tensions or violence. Following life-threatening hunger strikes, Israel has frequently conceded to demands to release prisoners or shorten their sentences. Adnan and other Palestinian detainees are seen as security threats by Israel. Accused of involvement in lethal incidents or conspiracies.