JERUSALEM -- In a high-stakes gamble, an imprisoned member of a Palestinian militant group has waged a hunger strike for almost two months, trying to draw attention to Israel's military justice system and its treatment of detainees who can be held without charge for lengthy periods.Khader Adnan, 33, has refused food for 55 days, making his hunger strike the longest ever waged by a Palestinian detainee. With his condition rapidly deteriorating, Israeli authorities, who consider him a terrorist, are nonetheless scrambling to keep him alive. His death could turn the previously obscure Adnan into a Palestinian hero and set off new violence.
| That, unfortunately, is the only reason to spare Khader... |
He is drinking water that is occasionally enhanced with electrolytes and vitamins he needs to keep him alive. His condition is considered severe.
| The whole point of a hunger strike is to shock your enemy into changing his behavior. Stalin understood that; that's why he always let hunger strikers starve to death. After a short while no one did hunger strikes in the Soviet Union anymore. It's callous of me to say that Khader should be granted his wish. I know. But Khader can end this and find a less stressful way of protesting. The Israelis can't yield or they'll have a hundred Paleos starving on the Cindy Sheehan smoothie™ hunger strike diet, and HRW and AI all over them as usual. |
The protest could not only cost Adnan his life but could also have political implications.
Islamic Jihad, a violent Iranian-backed militant group that has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, has vowed to punish Israel if Adnan dies.
| But they're vowing Dire Revenge™ regardless... |
Adnan was a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. It isn't known if he directly participated in attacks on Israelis.
| But it's a good guess... |
"Adnan was arrested with an administrative arrest warrant for activities that threatened regional security," an Israeli military spokesman said without elaborating. "An appeal was filed by the defendant and it is under review."
Adnan is being held under guard at an Israeli hospital, and prison officials say they are watching his condition closely. The prison service declined comment Thursday, but officials have said in the past that they have permission to force feed Adnan if necessary.
Adnan's lawyers appealed the detention order Thursday at a special hearing in the hospital, said Mahmoud Hassan, one of his lawyers. There was no ruling and the judge could take a week to give his decision.
Hassan, who works for the prisoners' advocacy group Addameer, said he was barred from discussing specifics of the hearing. But he said Adnan attended the hearing in a wheelchair, his hands and feet in shackles. He spoke with difficulty and vowed to continue his hunger strike.
Adnan is only allowing doctors from the Israel branch of Physicians for Human Rights and the International Committee of the Red
The second longest hunger strike in Palestinian history was by a woman who refused food for 43 days before she was released in 1997.