Al-Awda, the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, salutes and mourns the martyr Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli occupation prisons after over 86 days on hunger strike demanding his freedom. His death was not an accident but a deliberate decision of the occupation forces to deny him access to a civilian hospital, and therefore an assassination carried out by the Israeli occupation.
Khader Adnan, 45, from Arraba, Jenin, Palestine, was the father of nine children, married to Randa Mousa, a tireless advocate for his freedom. This was his sixth hunger strike behind occupation bars; in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021 he won his freedom from administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, on four separate occasions through hunger strikes. He has become a Palestinian, Arab and international symbol of Palestinian steadfastness against injustice.
When he was seized by occupation forces on February 5, he launched a hunger strike immediately. The occupation tried everything possible to stop his strike, from guards eating in front of him, to throwing him in solitary confinement, to refusing to take him to a hospital, and to even charging him in the military courts of entirely political allegations, such as membership in a political party and attending solidarity meetings at the homes of fellow Palestinian prisoners fighting for freedom.
The killing of Khader Adnan is a tragic reminder of the urgent need to address the inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Adnan’s death is a devastating loss for his family and community and for the entire Palestinian people, and a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for justice and freedom in Palestine.
The hunger strike by political prisoners in Palestine is a powerful act of resistance against the oppressive Israeli occupation and the systematic abuse and mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners. These brave individuals are risking their lives to demand human rights and dignity, and their struggle must not be ignored or forgotten. Khader Adnan, like so many Palestinian prisoners, put his body and his life on the line for the struggle not only to free him fromm the occupation prisons, but for the liberation of Palestine.
Today, Palestinian administrative detainees have announced plans to launch an upcoming hunger strike, to continue Khader Adnan’s legacy of struggle. We stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers and all 4,900 Palestinian prisoners, and call for their liberation and an end to the policy of administrative detention that currently holds over 1,000 Palestinians jailed without charge or trial.
The U.S. must end its ongoing support for the Israeli occupation and its crimes against the Palestinian people, including and especially the Palestinian prisoners. We demand that Israel is held accountable for its violations of international law and human rights. We mourn the loss of Khader Adnan and all those who have lost their lives in the struggle for justice and freedom in Palestine.
