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 A high-profile Palestinian prisoner has died in Israeli custody after being on a hunger strike for 86 days to protest his detention without charge or trial.

Ramallah, May 2 (RHC)-- A high-profile Palestinian prisoner has died in Israeli custody after being on a hunger strike for 86 days to protest his detention without charge or trial.

Khader Adnan died on Tuesday at a time of already soaring tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

The 45-year-old Adnan was a leading member of the armed group Islamic Jihad.  He began staging protracted hunger strikes more than a decade ago, introducing a new form of protest into the Palestinian struggle against Israel’s occupation.

Rights groups said Israeli authorities ignored recent warnings that his life was in danger.  The Israeli prison services claimed Adnan had refused medical treatment.

"We have to shut down our towns and protest, and do more than that," says Majid Abullah, a protester in Ramallah.  "He [Adnan] starved for 86 days.  People here are conditioned to think its normal.  It’s exhausting, but we need to come out and do this because no one is listening.  People need to hear." 

Khader Adnan was detained on February 5 and immediately went on a hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.   He was suffering from severe health problems as a result of the strike, marked by frequent vomiting of blood, severe weakness, frequent loss of consciousness, difficulty in speaking, movement, sleep and concentration, and severe pain all over his body. 

Over the past 20 years, Adnan had been arrested a dozen times by Israeli forces for his political and anti-occupation activities. He spent a total of eight years behind bars.

He went on hunger strike four times during his detentions, the longest of which was a 67-day period in 2012 that resulted in his release and inspired other Palestinian prisoners held under administrative detention to follow suit.

In 2015, he once again went on a hunger strike for 56 days to protest his detention. He did the same in 2018 for 58 days.

Adnan was also arrested in 2021 and was transferred to administrative detention. He went on a hunger strike for 25 days at the time.

Palestinian resistance groups and authorities have mourned the murder of Adnan, holding the occupying Tel Aviv regime fully responsible for the crime.