By DIAA HADID, Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — 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.
Adnan, a member of the armed group Islamic Jihad, has lost 60 pounds (27 kilograms) and now weighs about 140 pounds (63 kilograms). His skin is discolored, his hair has fallen out, he cannot walk, and he has been shackled to his bed, said lawyers and his wife Randa, who have seen him in a series of Israeli hospitals.
He is drinking water that is occasionally enhanced with electrolytes and vitamins he needs to keep him alive. His condition is considered severe.
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. The group could fire rockets into Israel from its stronghold in the Gaza Strip, where it has recently built up a powerful arsenal of new weapons.
Adnan was a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. It isn't known if he directly participated in attacks on Israelis.
Adnan is being held under a policy known as "administrative detention," said his lawyer, Tamar Peleg-Sryck. The system allows Israel to hold suspected militants without charge based on secret information that is not shared with lawyers. It is generally used in cases deemed high-risk.
"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 Cross to check on his condition. Neither group would comment.
The case has generated widespread support in Palestinian society.
Small demonstrations in support of Adnan have been held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent days. Followers exchange updates on Twitter, and Facebook users have changed their profile pictures to that of a bearded Adnan.
Adnan believes his imprisonment, and the events leading to his detention, have robbed him of his dignity, according to his wife and lawyers.
"My husband tells me, 'I am striking against humiliation,'" said Randa Adnan. "His determination is strong, even though he resembles a man who has stepped away from life."
Adnan began his hunger strike shortly after he was arrested in a raid on his home on Dec. 17 in the northern West Bank village of Arabeh.
Adnan claims soldiers made sexual innuendoes about his wife and mocked his Muslim faith. He also says Israeli agents beat him during interrogations, tied him in painful positions to a chair, ripped hair out of his beard and wiped dirt on his face. Israeli officials have not commented on those allegations.
He is also protesting his administrative detention.
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