Palestinian prisoner on 55th day of hunger strike

In a high-stakes gamble, an imprisoned member of a Palestinian terrorist group has waged a hunger strike for almost two months, trying to draw attention to Israel's military justice system.

Adnan, a member of the armed terrorist group Islamic Jihad, has lost 60 pounds (27 kilograms) and now weighs about 140 pounds (63 kilograms). His skin is discolored, his hair has fallen out, he cannot walk, and he has been shackled to his bed, said lawyers and his wife Randa, who have seen him in a series of Israeli hospitals.

Khader Adnan, 33, has refused food for 55 days, making his hunger strike the longest ever waged by a Palestinian detainee. With his condition rapidly deteriorating, Israeli authorities are scrambling to keep him alive. His death could turn the previously obscure Adnan into a Palestinian hero and set off new violence.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

OK, I see the accusation that Adnan is allegedly "...a member of the armed terrorist group Islamic Jihad." But where is the bloody proof he has hurt a flea?!? Apparently, that proof is no where to be found.

He has been imprisoned under Israeli "administrate detention", which allows for indefinite detention without charges. So, let's find out a little more about this "Palestinian Baddie", shall we?!?

It is day 55 of Khader Adnan's hunger strike. After pleas from a Twitter campaigns (#Dying2Live), and calls from human rights organizations, mainstream finally noticed the longest single-man hunger strike in history. The articles came on the same day as Adnan's last military court appeal, where it will be decided today if his imprisonment without charge will be upheld. Ma'an News Agency reported the "special session" took place in an Israeli hospital, where Adnan is currently shackled to a bed. In addition to the unconventional court session, two days ago Israeli authorities also unexpectedly granted Adnan a 30-minute family visit, in which his wife witnessed her frail husband vomiting blood and said: 'he couldn’t pick up our daughter. He has no strength in his arms.' Each day, Khader was subjected to two three-hour interrogation sessions. Throughout the interrogation sessions, his hands were tied behind his back on a chair with a crooked back, causing extreme pain to his back. Khader notes that the interrogators would leave him sitting alone in the room for half an hour or more. Khader also suffered from additional ill-treatment. During the second week of interrogation, one interrogator pulled his beard so hard that it caused his hair to rip off. The same interrogator also took dirt from the bottom of his shoe and rubbed it on Khader’s mustache as a means of humiliation. On Friday evening 30 December 2011, Khader was transferred to Ramleh prison hospital because of his deteriorating health from his hunger strike. He was placed in isolation in the hospital, where he was subject to cold conditions and cockroaches throughout his cell. He has refused any medical examinations since 25 December, which was one week after he stopped eating and speaking. The prison director came to speak to Khader in order to intimidate him further and soldiers closed the upper part of his cell’s door to block any air circulation, commenting that they would “break him” eventually. To date, no one in a position of agency to release Adnan has made a public statement, other than confirming his internment.

And gee whiz, IDF: if the man is unable to walk, WHY THE FLIP IS HE SHACKLED TO HIS BED?!?!?

So, what we appear to have here is a baker, who is a graduate student in economics with a family, thrown in to Israeli detention for absolutely no damned good reason the Israelis can come up with.

If this man dies in Israeli detention, under current conditions, this could ignite a firestorm in the Palestinian community, and beyond against Israel.

Should this happen (and I sincerely hope it does not), I would encourage the Palestinian people right now, to invoke Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King in a measured, and completely peaceful response. Peaceful confrontation is something the IDF doesn't know how to deal with, except with brutality, and that will show the Israeli police and defense force to the world for what they truly are.

And trust me: there will be no way for the Israeli government to prevent their response to peaceful Palestinian protest to be seen - and condemned - from across the world.

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