TEHRAN- Prominent Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan dies after 87 days of hunger strike in an Israeli jail. 

The Palestinian resistance has vowed that Israel will pay the cost for Adnan's martyrdom.

Israeli forces arrested Adnan on February 5th during a pre-dawn raid on his house in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. 

As a member of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad resistance movement, Adnan was known for his struggles and activities against the occupation. 

Adnan is described as an “icon of struggle and resistance for the coming generations”.

He had been arrested by the Zionist regime’s forces 12 times, spending a total of eight years behind bars, mostly under Israel's so-called "administrative detention". 

During his various detentions, the Iconic figure had gone on hunger strike five times, the longest of which was 67 days in 2012.

In 2015, he once again went on a hunger strike for 56 days to protest his detention. Likewise, in 2018, he did the same for 58 days.

Adnan was also arrested in 2021 and was held under "administrative detention" once more. At the time, he went on a hunger strike for 25 days.

The prominent prisoner has inspired many other Palestinian inmates held under Israel's so-called administrative detention to follow his protest action. 

Israel uses its so-called administrative detention against Palestinians to imprison them indefinitely without charge or trial on the pretext that they may pose a threat. 

There are currently some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners under Israel's so-called "administrative detention", including women and minors, despite the practice being condemned by the global community for breaking international laws and rules. 

This open-ended hunger strike, which Adnan waged until his death, is the longest of his protests over the past two decades, which he has been in and out of Israeli dungeons.

Just three days ago, an Israeli military court in Ofer Prison refused to release him, despite warnings that his health condition had reached an extremely critical level.

Following his death, sirens sounded in Israeli settlements along the besieged Gaza Strip amid reports of rocket fire from the coastal enclave. 

The Palestinian resistance has vowed to avenge the martyr, warning Israel of retaliation. 

Upon news of Adnan's death, the Islamic Jihad Resistance Movement issued a statement that said: "In our march towards al-Quds (Jerusalem), we will lose many brave men and many leaders and fighters. The fighter and leader Khader Adnan was one of those who opened a wide path for all those who seek freedom in Palestine and the world."

Reacting to the news, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah has said that members of the "resistance movement chose the path of martyrdom by their own will, the martyrdom of Khader Adnan is better than this choice."

Al-Nakhalah stressed, "If we did not have people like Khader Adnan, our cause would have gone unheeded." He added, "Adnan will remain a great symbol of the Palestinian people and symbols of freedom fighters in the world."

"Our pledge today to all the martyrs and to the prisoner Khader Adnan is that we will not leave the path of resistance until the liberation of our land from murderers and criminals," the Islamic Jihad leader stressed.

The media office of Islamic Jihad said Adnan's death was the result of a full-fledged Israeli crime. It added Adnan completed his protest in Israeli prison with "the full realization that he was facing two options: freedom or martyrdom, and he was victorious in both."

It also pointed out "the occupation tried by many means to assassinate the captive Adnan and take revenge on him, because he is one of the most important active national leaders." 

The media office stressed "loyalty to the captive Adnan is by following in his footsteps" while describing him as "the most honorable and bravest of men."

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said Adnan’s death will be written in the “glory pages of our people, and this blood will be fuel for the escalation of the revolutionary and resistance operations against Israeli occupation.”

“What happened reveals the extent of terrorism and fascism of the so-called Prison Service, which deliberately killed Sheikh Khader in this way,” Qasem said in a statement.

“This crime represents a cold-blooded execution carried out by the Prison Service against martyr prisoner Khader Adnan. … The path of revolution and resistance will escalate throughout Palestine in response to this crime and all the crimes of Israeli occupation,” he added.

The Hamas movement also said that "the assassination of Khader Adnan was premeditated and in cold blood," and that "the criminal occupation government will pay the price for the crime of his assassination by refusing to release him and neglect him medically."

The group stated "this adds to the record of the occupation's crimes and its terror against our heroic prisoners and our people, and it must be pursued," stressing, “Our people will not let this crime go unpunished."

Hamas also noted that this crime exposes that “this unjust world is incapable of supporting our prisoners."  

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader, Ismail Radwan vowed "the occupation's crime will not go unpunished, and the resistance will remain the shield and sword that defends our prisoners."

He added, "The hero martyr Khader Adnan wrote a legend of struggle and confrontation, rejecting arbitrary and administrative detention inside the occupation prisons."

The Palestinian Legal Bar Association has also issued a statement affirming the right of the Palestinian people to defend their rights with all the tools of struggle against the Israeli enemy.

It also called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the international community to form a commission of inquiry to investigate the case.

As of April 2023, there were nearly 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails. More than 1,000 - including women and children - have been held without charge.

The Palestine Foreign Ministry has also called for an international investigation into Adnan’s death, describing it as a “heinous crime”.

The ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the heinous crime committed by the occupation authorities, which led to the martyrdom of Khader Adnan.” 

The secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization says it holds Israeli authorities “fully responsible” for Adnan’s death, blaming it on “negligence and forced detention”.

The Fatah party in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin described Adnan as an “icon of struggle and resistance for the coming generations”.

“What happened is an implementation of the current Israeli government’s policies, especially Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is responsible for the prisons and who has made matters more difficult for our prisoners. The occupation tried to send a message by assassinating Khader Adnan – a message of deterrence – to our heroic prisoners.”

It said the coming days “will be filled with a response to this occupation and the way it is treating our prisoners.”

Adnan's wife Randa Musa says that she is "very proud" of the martyrdom of her husband, who was "assassinated by the occupation," stressing adherence to his will.

During a press conference, Randa said, "I congratulate myself and my children on the martyrdom of Khader Adnan, and this is our pride."

She added, "There will be no mourning house for Adnan, but rather we will receive well-wishers for this blessed martyrdom."

Addressing the Israeli occupation, she said, "Remember the faces of my children well, God is my witness, we have raised them on pride and dignity."

Outside Adnan's house, where a large crowd of journalists and locals gathered, Randa declared that "her children will resist," the occupation.

There is mounting pressure on the regime to hand over the body for funeral. Palestinian organizations have demanded Israel not to carry out an autopsy.

Before his martyrdom, Adnan left a will advising his family, sons, wife and the Palestinians not to despair, no matter what the occupiers commit, stressing that victory is near.

The will also calls on Israel not to be allowed to dissect his body, to bury him next to his father, and to simply write on his grave the following words: 

"Here is the poor servant of God. Khader Adnan"