Hunger Strike Ends, but Adnan’s Detention Without Charges Doesn’t

Israel Offered Bare Minimum Concessions on Dying Detainee

The last minute deal to end the hunger strike of the nearly dead detainee Khader Adnan may have been enough to convince Adnan to start eating again, but the concessions made by Israel appear to be extremely minimal, and his detention will continue.

Originally, Adnan’s detention was scheduled to be ended on May 8. Though there have still been no charges against him, he’s going to remain in custody through at least April 17. Khader’s demand was that Israel agree not to renew his order and his lawyer says that Israel met that requirement.

But did they? It isn’t clear from the Justice Ministry’s comments, which instead indicate that Adnan’s detention will not be extended only “if no significant new material is added to the case.

All the evidence against Adnan is secret, and the Justice Ministry’s comments don’t make it clear if they’d release evidence or just announce an extension in April on the assumption that something new and secret does exist.

Adnan owns a produce store and an attached bakery. Though they never defended this allegation with anything, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev claimed Adnan was a “cold-blooded killer” funded by Iran.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.