Khader Adnan Ends Hunger Strike, Israel Increases Arrests

Local Editor

Khader Adnan announced Tuesday that he will end his 66-day hunger strike after Israel decided to release him in April. Adnan, who has been protesting the Israeli provision that allows the occupying entity to hold detainees for long periods without any trial, has lost 35 kilos due to the hunger strike and was facing the danger of death. According to Haaretz, the Israeli Justice Ministry issued a statement in which it said that “it will not request to extend Adnan's administrative detention, which is due to end on April 17.” In contrast, the Zionist army arrested Tuesday morning two Palestinians whom it had released in last year’s swap deal with Hamas. According to a statement issued by the Palestinian Prisoners’ club, an Israeli military force broke into the Qalqilia region and took Youssef Abdul Rahman and Mahmoud Adnan Slim. The two Palestinians were released on the 18th of December, in the swap deal between Hamas and Israel that led to the release of Gilad Shalit in return for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In parallel, B’Tselem organization published a report in which it pointed out to a “sharp increase” in the administrative detention -detention without trial- among Palestinian detainees. It indicated that “in 2011, there was a sharp increase in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees held by Israel, from 219 in January to 307 in December.” According to the report, “twenty-nine percent of the detainees had been held for six months to one year; another 24 percent from one to two years. Seventeen Palestinians had been in administrative detention continuously for two to four and a half years, and one man has been held for over five years.”

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!