Petition to save Palestinian hunger striker

Khader Adnan

An online petition has called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to put pressure on Israel to release a Palestinian detainee who has been on hunger strike for 56 days.

Khader Adnan is said to be close to death after refusing to eat shortly after his arrest in December.

He is being held under so-called "administrative detention" that enables Israeli authorities to detain suspects without trial or charge indefinitely. A local rights group, al-Haq, said 315 Palestinians were being held under the edict.

Israel frequently accuses detainees of militant activity to justify detention of Palestinians, but rarely produces evidence to support such claims.

The online petition calls on the Israeli military court to release Adnan and asks the ICRC to force the Israeli government to make concessions.

"We are writing to express our frustration at your slow acting in regards to the Palestinian detainee, Mr. Adnan Khader, who has been on hunger strike since 17 December 2011,” it says.

“His detention is continuing without trial or charges. According to International Humanitarian Law, it is the responsibility of the ICRC to take active steps to save his life by applying pressure on the Israeli government to release him."

The petition was launched on Friday and has 200 signatories, with the current target being 300.

One of the signatories, who identified herself as Elizabeth Fullerton from the United Kingdom, wrote: “Mr Khader is being held without charge for an undetermined length of time, it is illegal as well as cruel and inhumane to continue to hold, and the ICRC has a duty and moral obligation to save his life.”

Another, Najib Aloui from Algeria, said: “Adnan's suffering is not being caused by some soulless natural phenomenon. It is caused by soulless souls who negate his basic rights as a human being.”

On Thursday it was reported that Adnan's condition was deteriorating rapidly as he continued to refuse food.

"He is not in good shape. People on a hunger strike for more than 50 days are in real danger. The doctors are extremely concerned," said Yael Shavit, spokeswoman for Sieff Hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed, where Adnan is being held

Palestinian officials say it is the longest hunger strike yet undertaken by a Palestinian prisoner and if Adnan dies, they expect major protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Adnan's wife, Randa, denies Israeli accusations that he is a leader of Islamic Jihad.
She visited her husband on Tuesday and told Reuters he was shackled to his hospital bed and had lost 35kg. She said his skin was discolored, his hair had fallen out and he had sores around his mouth.

"He couldn't pick up our daughter. He has no strength in his arms," she said, adding that he had started to vomit blood.