Wed 03 May 2023:
The UN urged a ‘thorough investigation’ Tuesday into the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan.
Adnan, a prominent Islamic Jihad group figure, who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies, died earlier in the day after an 86-day hunger strike against his detention without trial or charge.
“Israeli authorities must ensure that the circumstances of his death are thoroughly investigated,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
“The secretary-general reiterates his call on Israel to end the practice of administrative detention. All those held in administrative detention should be promptly charged and tried in a court of law or released without delay,” he said.
Adnan, who was awaiting trial, was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a hospital where he was declared dead after failed efforts to revive him, Israel’s Prisons Service said. He was the first Palestinian hunger striker to die in Israeli custody in more than 30 years.
General strike, more protests
On Wednesday, shops and schools remained closed during a general strike announced the day before across several cities in the occupied West Bank in support of Adnan.
In the city of Hebron, some protesters burned tyres and hurled stones at Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them. There were no reports of injuries.
“We have to shut down our towns to protest and do more than that,” Majid Abullah, a demonstrator in Ramallah, told Al Jazeera.
“He [Adnan] starved for 86 days. People here are conditioned to think it’s normal. It’s exhausting, but we need to come out and do this because no one is listening. People need to hear.”
‘DELIBERATE ASSASSINATION’: PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKER KHADER ADNAN DIES IN ISRAELI PRISON
On Tuesday, hundreds of people also took to the streets in blockaded Gaza and the West Bank cities of Nablus, Jenin, Hebron and Ramallah to rally in support of Adnan and mourn his death.
Palestinians in Ramallah said they planned another protest in support of Adnan at 6pm [15:00 GMT] on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, Palestinian Authority security forces suppressed a march in Jenin in support of Adnan with tear gas and stun grenades. They also arrested prominent activist Ghassan al-Saadi and two others.
At least 11 other Palestinians were also detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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