Home NewsMiddle East ‘We’ve failed Khader Adnan,’ says Gaza activist

‘We’ve failed Khader Adnan,’ says Gaza activist

by Zahid Jadwat

‘We have failed Khader Adnan,’ says Gaza-based activist. [Picture: Press TV]

 

Palestinians and the world at-large have failed Khader Adnan, according to a Gaza-based journalist and activist.

Speaking in an interview on Salaamedia, Wafaa Aludaini said the world had turned a blind eye to the pleas of an icon. Khader Adnan, 45, died in Israeli detention after an 87-day hunger strike.

His death sparked widespread anger from the West Bank to Gaza. His lawyer accused the occupiers of medical negligence. Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyah labelled it a “deliberate assassination”.

“It was a shock to us as Palestinians,” said Aludaini, adding, “we feel disappointed because we failed Khader Adnan. He was protesting his administrative detention in the occupation jail. He was on hunger strike for nearly three months [and] no one spoke about him or even listened to his demands to be free.”

 

SMread: Khader Adnan’s death must not be in vain


Assassination

Aludaini called out the Israeli government for treating Adnan as a militant. She believed Israel had intended to leave him to die while in detention without trial.

“According to his lawyer, he suffered from medical negligence inside the occupation jail … They treated him in a military hospital, which means they dealt with him as a militant while he was not a militant. They detained him without trial and this is not the first time,” she said.

Adnan had become something of an icon for Palestinians languishing in occupation jails. This was his fifth hunger strike. He was arrested at his home in Arraba, in the north of the occupied West Bank, on 5 February on accusations of supporting terrorism and affiliation with a terrorist group.

Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer described these as “spurious charges intended to further suppress Palestinian activists”.

Referring to Adnan’s previous successful hunger strikes Aludaini said, “Each time, he won and they released him. This time, it was so clear that they meant to kill him because he was an icon for Palestinian detainees. He had an impact on them.”

 

SMread: The answer to coal: Is it coal or clean energy?


Gaza Strip

Palestinian resistance groups had previously warned they would take action should Adnan die while at the hands of his captors. That they did, prompting disproportionate attacks from Israel.

“The occupation warplanes bombed several resistance sites and several observation posts for the resistance. The homes close to these sites got damaged and the explosions were so huge – this terrorised everyone across the Gaza Strip,” said Aludaini.

Israeli warplanes pummelled 16 targets in the densely populated open-air prison. “We attacked everything we wanted,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza on Wednesday confirmed that a 58-year-old man, Hashel Mubarak, was killed north of Gaza City. It said five other people were injured.

Officials from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations successfully persuaded a truce, which came into effect at 06:00 (03:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

 

Related Videos