RAMALLAH
Israeli authorities have ordered six months of "administrative detention" for an Islamic Jihad leader who had championed a 2012 hunger strike campaign involving hundreds of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails.
In a Monday statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Society, a Palestinian NGO, said that Khedr Adnan had been slapped with six months of "administrative detention" by Israeli authorities.
Adnan, 38, was arrested last week at an Israeli checkpoint on a road linking the West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin.
In 2012, Adnan staged a 60-day hunger strike to protest his ongoing detention without trial, prompting scores of other Palestinian detainees to follow suit.
Israel's policy of "administrative detention" allows the self-proclaimed Jewish state to hold Palestinian prisoners indefinitely without trial or charge.
Administrative detention orders can range from one to six months in length and can be extended by Israeli military courts for up to five years.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, around 5700 Palestinians – including 200 in administrative detention – continue to languish in jails throughout Israel.
By Qais Abu Samra
www.aa.com.tr/en
