Published: Less than 50 min ago
Rockets have been fired from Gaza since Khader Adnan, a well-known Islamist leader in the West Bank, died in Israeli custody after nearly three months on hunger strike.
According to Israel’s military, three rockets were fired from Gaza and landed in “open areas” in southern Israel.
Khader Adnan was detained by Israeli forces in February and had since refused to eat. The Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad, which is labeled a terrorist by Israel, the EU and the United States, states in a statement that Israel will “pay the price” for Adnan’s death.
The 45-year-old was held in so-called administrative detention – a controversial Israeli measure that involves detaining people indefinitely without formal charges or trial. In recent years, several Palestinian prisoners have gone on hunger strike in protest against being held in administrative detention. In most cases, Israel has released them when their health condition worsened, but several are reported to have suffered chronic neurological damage.
Khader Adnan is reported to be the first to die as a direct result of a hunger strike in Israeli administrative custody. According to Adnan’s wife, he had been detained ten times and previously carried out several hunger strikes during his time in prison.
– They (Israel) have refused to take him to a civilian hospital and denied him a visit from his lawyer, the wife told the AFP news agency last week.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six Day War in 1967. Khader Adnan’s death is feared to lead to heightened tensions between Israel and Palestinian groups in an already very strained situation.