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Israel Releases Khader Adnan After 56-Day Hunger Strike, Then Arrests Him a Day Later

The Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad was reportedly detained on Monday while trying to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque

by
Jonathan Zalman
July 13, 2015
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike while being detained for a year without charge by Israeli authorities, hugs a relative as he arrives in the West Bank village of Arraba after his release, July 12, 2015. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike while being detained for a year without charge by Israeli authorities, hugs a relative as he arrives in the West Bank village of Arraba after his release, July 12, 2015. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

On May 4, Khader Adnan, housed in an Israeli prison under administrative detention—a practice in which a person is arrested by state authorities, and held without charges or a trial—began a fast (except for water) that would last until June 29, which is when Israel agreed to release him on July 12. During his hunger strike, Adnan, a father of six and a member of Islamic Jihad, described by CNN as “an Iranian backed militant group that has killed scores of Israelis in suicide bombings and rocket attacks,” had been hospitalized.

Adnan’s lawyer told Al Jazeera that the conditions stemmed from a Israel promise to never detain Adnan again under administrative detention, which is indefinitely renewable in six-month intervals. This was Adnan’s tenth imprisonment; he’s served a total of six years. In 2012, Adnan survived a 66-day hunger strike before he was released.

On Sunday, Adnan was greeted in Arrabeh, Jenin in the West Bank by revelers:

On Monday, Haaretz reported that Adnad had been arrested while trying to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during Ramadan. “Khader Adnan was arrested because he had no right to be in the Old City of Jerusalem where free access is allowed to West Bank Palestinians only aged 50 and above, and he is just 37,” Israel Police spokesperson Luba Samri told the AFP.

The Shin Bet confirmed that Adnan had been arrested, saying that he had entered Jerusalem illegally. Adnan has been transferred to the police for questioning. The Shin Bet said that Adnan had been refused entry into Israel due to his activities in the Islamic Jihad, and that the defense establishment viewed this violation with severity.

The following are allegedly images of Adnan’s arrest:

#Photo: IOF special unit kidnap #KhaderAdnan while on way 2 commemorate Laylat Alqadr @ #Alaqsa #Jerusalem #Palestine pic.twitter.com/GpK4cc97Zp



— Voice from Palestine (@Palaestina) July 13, 2015

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.