RAMALLAH, Palestine
The Palestinian Prisoners Society, a local NGO, announced on Monday that Khader Adnan, a 37-year-old Palestinian prisoner incarcerated in an Israeli prison, had ended a 55-day hunger strike after reaching agreement with the Israeli authorities for his release.
“Khader Adnan broke his hunger strike after an agreement was reached to release him from custody on July 12,” Adnan’s lawyer, Ossama al-Saadi, told Anadolu Agency.
Al-Saadi confirmed that a written agreement had been signed to this effect by both Adnan and the Israeli authorities.
“Adnan has escaped the executioner once again and regained his freedom. It’s a national triumph by any standard,” the lawyer declared.
Since waging a 67-day-long hunger strike in 2012, after which he was released by Israeli authorities, Adnan has become a symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood.
He was rearrested by Israel on July 8 2014 at an Israeli army checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
He began his latest hunger strike on May 5 of this year to protest his ongoing imprisonment under Israel’s policy of administrative detention.
Under the policy of administrative detention, prisoners can be held without trial for periods ranging from six months to one year.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and detain local Palestinians, claiming they are "wanted" by Israeli security agencies.
Over 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in prisons throughout the self-proclaimed Jewish state, according to official Palestinian figures.
