Khader Adnan Mohammad Musa (; 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.
In the early 2000s, Adnan was a spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), 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.
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. 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. 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.
Adnan was detained for the final time on 5 February 2023, and immediately began what was to become his longest hunger strike. 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". He died in prison on 2 May, having spent approximately eight cumulative years in Israeli detention.
Early life and family Khader Adnan was from Arraba, near Jenin in the West Bank, where he owned a bakery and produce store. A baker by trade, he held an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Birzeit University. In 1996, as a student, he became involved with the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ), eventually serving as a spokesman for the group.
Adnan married his wife Randa Adnan in 2005, by which time he had been detained five times for his affiliation with PIJ. He told her before they married that, "his life was not normal, that he might be around for 15 days and then be gone again for a long time. But I always dreamt of marrying someone strong, someone who struggles in defense of his country."
Randa had given birth to two daughters and a son by 2012, and in late 2013 gave birth to triplets. As of 2021, Adnan had a total of nine children.
Early detentions, 1999–2010
Adnan was first arrested and detained by Israel in 1999, when he spent four months under Israeli administrative detention. He was arrested by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) eight months after being released for leading a student demonstration against Lionel Jospin in 2000. At the demonstration, students threw eggs or stones at the former French Prime Minister during his visit to Birzeit to denounce his characterization of Hezbollah's military actions against the Israeli occupation as "terrorism." His first hunger strike, 10 days long, was undertaken during his detention by the PNA. He was arrested again in December 2002 by Israel and spent a year in administrative detention. Rearrested six months after his release, he was placed in solitary confinement and went on hunger strike for 28 days until the Israel Prison Service placed him with the general prison population.
In June 2005, after PIJ members were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops, Adnan "called on all Palestinian militant groups to resume fighting with Israel" and accused the governing entity, the PNA, of collaborating with Israel. In August 2005, Adnan was arrested and imprisoned by Israel for 15 months. According to Palestinian prisoners' support group Addameer, he held a 12-day hunger strike to protest his isolation in Kfar Yona in 2005.. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. A YouTube video of a rally in 2007 shows him praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?" He was held by Israel for another six months in administrative detention beginning in March 2008.
2011 detention and hunger strike
At the time of his 2011 arrest, Adnan was no longer an active spokesman for the PIJ. Adnan had been convicted in the past by Israel for being a spokesperson for the PIJ, and media reports indicate he served as a PIJ spokesman. In 2012, Gulf News said he had served as a spokesman for the group since 2000, while The Guardian said he had acted as a spokesman for the PIJ in the past.
By this point, Adnan had been detained roughly 10 times since—seven times by Israel (including his last detention), and two or three times by the PNA. Addameer said Adnan had spent a total of six years in prison since 1999. Between his periods of incarceration Adnan continued to run his bakery in Arraba.
At the time of his detention, Adnan was studying for a master's degree in economics at Birzeit University. He also operated a bakery in Qabatya and a produce store in his hometown of Arraba in the West Bank. He was arrested by the Israeli Army on 17 December 2011 from their home in Arraba in the middle of the night. The next day, he began a hunger strike that ended 66 days later on 21 February 2012. In a letter he gave to his lawyers for public release, Adnan explained why he was on hunger strike:
The Israeli occupation has gone to extremes against our people, especially prisoners. I have been humiliated, beaten, and harassed by interrogators for no reason, and thus I swore to God I would fight the policy of administrative detention to which I and hundreds of my fellow prisoners fell prey … The only thing I can do is offer my soul to God, as I believe righteousness and justice will eventually triumph over tyranny and oppression. I hereby assert that I am confronting the occupiers not for my own sake as an individual, but for the sake of thousands of prisoners who are being deprived of their simplest human rights while the world and international community look on. It is time the international community and the UN support prisoners and force the State of Israel to respect international human rights and stop treating prisoners as if they were not humans.
Adnan was interrogated for 18 days following his arrest; he told his lawyers that during this time Israeli soldiers made sexual innuendos about his wife, mocked his Islamic faith, beat him, tied him to a chair in painful positions, ripped hair from his beard and wiped dirt on his face. Israeli authorities ignored these allegations. According to his wife and lawyers, Adnan's mistreatment continued and included lengthy periods of solitary confinement, multiple strip searches, and continuous abusive interrogation.
Adnan had "officially" been under administrative detention since 10 January 2012, a term that was set to last until 8 May at which point his detention could be renewed if the Israeli authorities deem it necessary. As of 31 December 2011, there were 307 Palestinians in administrative detention, including 21 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the parliament of the Palestinian Authority. Under the administrative detention procedure, the Israeli military can hold detainees for renewable six-month periods without charge if it deems them to be security threats. The decision to detain an individual is based on the evidence presented to military judges, but not the defendant or his lawyers, and is subject to judicial review.
Adnan had not been formally charged with any crime; Israel claimed that he was arrested "for activities that threaten regional security." BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera reported that Adnan was believed to be a leader of the PIJ in the West Bank. Bikya Masr reported he was a "senior leader of the Islamic Jihad organization" and according to Al-Ahram, He was a "leading figure in Islamic Jihad."
It is not known if Adnan was directly involved in attacks on Israelis; he had never been charged as such by Israel. His wife Randa denied Adnan had any leadership role in the PIJ, or any role in militant activities, and said he was a member of a Palestinian reconciliation committee. She told YNET in 2011 that, "It's true that he was the Islamic Jihad's spokesman during the intifada, but over the past four years he had nothing to do with it … He hadn't talked to anyone from the Islamic Jihad. He left that activity altogether."
Adnan was transferred to a hospital on 30 December but refused treatment from Israeli doctors. After meeting Adnan in the hospital, the organization Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, expressed "grave concern" and about his situation, which its doctors described as "critical." About 50 days into his hunger strike his wife was permitted to visit him, and stated he appeared emaciated and dirty and was shackled to his hospital bed.
Demonstrations and solidarity strikes
Adnan's 2012 hunger strike prompted demonstrations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners joined the hunger strike in solidarity. Adnan's father Musa Adnan started an open-ended hunger strike on 6 February the same year, telling Ma'an News Agency it would "enable him to support his son and understand his pain." His hometown of Arraba was at the center of demonstrations, with solidarity protesters camping outside his house, with Palestinian and foreign officials visiting to enquire about Adnan's health conditions. Around 50–60 Palestinians protested outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to show solidarity with Adnan on 8 February.
On 11 February 2012 hundreds of Palestinians staged a demonstration at the Ofer Prison where Adnan was being held. The Israeli Army dispersed the protesters using rubber bullets and tear gas, injuring 16. At a separate demonstration in Beit Ummar near Hebron two Israelis and two Palestinians were arrested by Israel. Dozens of students from Birzeit University that gathered outside Ofer Prison on 13 February demanding Adnan's release were dispersed by Israeli security forces resulting in the injury of 23 people. On 15 February, supporters began an open hunger strike at a sit-in in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City.
On 16 February 2012, the 61st day of Adnan's hunger strike, thousands of demonstrators protested throughout the Palestinian territories. About 1,000 mostly young Palestinians protested outside of Ofer Prison before being dispersed and in Hebron, hundreds of supporters held a sit-in holding posters reading "No to administrative arbitrary detention." That same day, Palestinians observed a 10-hour hunger strike in solidarity.
Around 5,000 protesters demonstrated in Gaza City on 17 February 2012 chanting "We are all Khader Adnan," with the PIJ, Hamas and Fatah factions all participating. In Jenin, meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians partook in a solidarity protest.
International media attention, appeal and release
Adnan's case first drew international media attention when AFP ran a report was 44 days into his hunger strike. A week and a half after that, the Associated Press also ran a story, followed by CNN shortly afterwards.
On 9 February, CNN reported that in response to criticism from human rights groups, the Israeli Prison Authority stated Adnan's case was being handled "strictly according to the law … with special attention being given to his humanitarian situation." The prison service also stated that Adnan agreed to take potassium pills and does not want to die.