Who is martyr Khader Adnan?

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Prisoner Khader Adnan was martyred this morning at age 44, following an 87-day hunger strike in refusal of his arbitrary arrest, as the occupation kept Martyr Adnan detained in the Ramla prison clinic.

Adnan remained for 87 days in a small cell in the Ramla prison clinic, waging a fierce Battle of Empty Stomachs, during which his wife traveled from one governorate to another, from one event to another, from radio to television or any media outlet, seeking any opportunity to highlight her husband's suffering and conveying to the public the developments of his strike.

Adnan went on strike from the very beginning of his arrest on February 5, when Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided his home in the Jenin camp.

At the time, Israeli occupation forces launched a massive campaign of raids and incursions in the West Bank, during which they arrested a number of Palestinians, including leaders of the Palestine Islamic Jihad movement.

According to Palestinian sources who were in the town, the IOF brutally assaulted Adnan during his arrest and humiliated him in front of his wife and children, the eldest of which is 14 years old.

Randa Moussa, the martyr's wife, confirmed that her husband had told an occupation officer that he would go on hunger strike from the very first moment of his arrest.

With a total of nine years of detention, the IOF had arrested the prisoner-turned-martyr a total of 12 times. For the most part, Adnan was detained under administrative arrest warrants, according to his wife, as well as suffering from political arrests by the Palestinian Authority due to the Revolving Door policy.

Armed with his strong will, Sheikh Khader Adnan went into one strike after the other in order to snatch his freedom and deliver a clear message not to negotiate with the occupier saying: "We will not recognize your fascist decisions, and we will take away our freedom whatever the sacrifices may be."

Adnan's hunger strike

The first stop of the Battle of Empty Stomachs was started by Adnan with a group of detainees from the Gaza Strip in 2005, according to Moussa. The first strike started in order to force the IOF to reverse a decision for his complete isolation. After 25 days, the detainees snatched their freedom.

According to Moussa, "At the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, he fought his second battle with his famous 66-day strike against his administrative detention, in which he was able to extract a decision to release him."

In 2015, Adnan carried out his third hunger strike which lasted 58 days, and later went on a new 54-day strike in 2018, followed by another 25-day strike in 2021, and began his sixth strike on February 5.

The earlier years of Martyr Khader Adnan 

Khader Adnan Musa was born on 24 March 1978 in the town of Araba in Jenin.

He completed his elementary and secondary schooling in his hometown, Araba, and finished high school with distinction in 1996. After that, Adnan attended Birzeit University in Ramallah. In 2001, he received a bachelor's degree in economic mathematics and then a master's degree in economics from the same university.

Early on, Khader Adnan began his political career by joining the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. His first arrest was by the Palestinian Authority on charges of inciting stone-throwing toward the then-French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin when he visited Birzeit University in 1998. He spent his 10 days in detention on hunger strike.

Soon after, during his time at university, Adnan was arrested by the IOF multiple times. The first time he was detained for approximately four months, and after his release, he was then again detained for about a year. In both cases, Adnan was in administrative detention.

Adnan was arrested again by the Palestinian Authority in October 2010 and spent 12 days in prison, during which he also went on hunger strike.

His most famous arrest was on 17 December 2011, in which he fought for months and was on the longest individual hunger strike in Israeli prisons to protest his administrative detention without being charged. The strike lasted 65 days, and the request for his release was completed on 17 April 2012.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced Adnan's martyrdom on Tuesday morning.

"In our long march toward Al-Quds, we will lose many brave men, leaders, and fighters along the way, and Commander Khader Adnan was one of those who paved a wide path for all those who seek freedom in Palestine and the world," the PIJ said a statement. 

The statement further pointed out that "the martyrdom of Commander Khader Adnan will be exemplary for the many generations of brave men to come."

"Our struggle continues and will not cease. The enemy will realize once more that its crimes will not go unanswered, and that the resistance will remain ongoing with all strength, determination, and steadfastness."

Following the announcement, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the PIJ declared a general strike in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and Jenin, while the IOF announced a state of alert in preparation for possible retaliations following Adnan's martyrdom.

Read more: Martyr Khader Adnan's will: Do not despair whatever the occupier does