Israel detains senior Islamic Jihad leader in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli forces detained a senior leader of Islamic Jihad group in the occupied West Bank, according to his wife on Sunday.

“Sheikh Kheder Adnan was stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint northwest of Nablus and taken into custody,” Randa Mousa said.

She said the whereabouts of her husband is not yet known.

A father of nine, Adnan, 52, had spent more than seven years in Israeli prisons.

In 2012, Adnan staged a 66-day hunger strike in protest of his detention, forcing Israeli authorities to release him. He staged similar hunger strikes in 2015 and 2018.

Around 4,400 Palestinians are estimated to be held in Israeli prisons, including 39 women, 115 children, and 350 administrative detainees, according to Palestinian rights groups.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report