Khader Adnan

Khader Adnan Mohammad Musa (Arabic: خضر عدنان محمد موسى, romanized: Khaḍr ʿAdnān Muḥammad Mūsā‎; 24 March 1978 – 2 May 2023) was a Palestinian activist and prisoner in Israel who died after an 87-day hunger strike in protest of his detention without trial. By the time of his death, he had been arrested 12 times by Israel. He became prominent as a figure after a 66-day hunger strike in 2011 that led to a mass hunger strike among Palestinian prisoners and his ultimate release.^[1][2][3]

In the early 2000s, Adnan was a spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),^[4][5] a group that militantly opposes Israel, and Adnan was convicted for his role with the group. In 2012, his wife claimed that he had not been involved with PIJ for four years, and never had any role in militant activities.^[6][7]

In December 2011, Adnan was arrested and held under administrative detention, and the following day, to protest the conditions of his arrest, Israel's policy of administrative detention and its treatment of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, went on a hunger strike. Whilst mass hunger strikes had previously been carried out by groups of Palestinian prisoners, Adnan became the first to go on an individual hunger strike.^[8] According to Adnan, an International Committee of the Red Cross visit was canceled after Israeli officers insisted on being present and that Adnan remain tied to his bed.^[9] On 21 February 2012, Israel agreed to release Adnan on 17 April 2012, and he agreed to immediately end his hunger strike at 66 days, then the longest in Palestinian history.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

Adnan was detained for the final time on 5 February 2023, and immediately began what was to become his longest hunger strike.^[8] Israeli journalist Amira Hass wrote that his intent was "to expose the basic injustice in Israel’s military justice system and its casual denial of basic freedoms".^[8] He died in prison on 2 May, having spent approximately eight cumulative years in Israeli detention.^[2]