Palestinian resistance groups and authorities have mourned the death of the senior leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, Khader Adnan, at an Israeli jail after an 87-day hunger strike, holding the occupying Tel Aviv regime fully responsible for its crime.

“In the real sense of resilience and steadfastness as well as the highest levels of trust in God Almighty, we mourn the demise of a great leader, a brave man, and a courageous [resistance] fighter, Sheikh Khader Adnan,” the Islamic Jihad movement said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

“Sheikh Adnan embraced martyrdom as a result of a crime, for which the occupying Zionist entity bears full and direct responsibility. The Israeli regime, which arrested him, inflicted pain and suffering upon him, perpetrated the most heinous crimes against him, and employed illegitimate means, sham trials as well as terrorist acts in this regard, will pay a hefty price for this misdeed,” the statement read.

The movement added, “In our long march towards the liberation of al-Quds, we will lose many brave men, leaders and resistance fighters. Sheikh Khader Adnan was one of those individuals, who paved the way for all people seeking freedom in Palestinian lands and across the world.”

‘Premeditated and cold-blooded crime’

Hamas resistance movement, for its part, extended deep condolences over Adnan’s martyrdom, holding the criminal Israeli apartheid regime and the far-right administration led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for the “premeditated and cold-blooded” crime.

“The criminal and occupying Israeli regime will pay a heavy price for the crime of assassinating Sheikh Khader Adnan by refusing to release him and exercising deliberate medical negligence against him. The Zionist entity must be prosecuted for its crimes,” Hamas asserted.

The resistance movement noted that the crime adds to the long list of crimes that Israel has committed against heroic Palestinian prisoners and all walks of the Palestinian society.

Hamas also stressed that Palestinians will employ all available means and all forms of resistance to confront the Israeli regime’s crimes against prisoners and ordinary people.

The Fatah movement also commiserated with the Islamic Jihad group over the loss of Sheikh Adnan, holding the Israeli regime, Netanyahu and so-called national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir fully responsible for his death.

Fatah called on the international community to take immediate and effective measures to protect Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also strongly denounced Israel for deliberately assassinating the prisoner.

“The Israeli occupation and its prison administration carried out a deliberate assassination against Adnan by rejecting his request for release, neglecting him medically, and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition,” Shtayyeh said in a statement, in response to the death of the senior Islamic Jihad leader, who had been on hunger strike for 86 days in protest against his detention without charge.

The Palestinian prime minister offered his deepest condolences to Adnan’s family, Palestinian prisoners, and all Palestinians.

The Palestinian foreign ministry also held the Israeli regime fully responsible for the incident and called for an international investigation into Adnan’s death.

It demanded an international investigation into the circumstances and details surrounding his death, emphasizing it will submit the file to the International Criminal Court.

Adnan was detained on February 5 and immediately went on a hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.

He was suffering from severe health problems as a result of the strike, including frequent vomiting of blood, severe weakness, frequent loss of consciousness, difficulty in speaking, movement, sleep and concentration, and severe pain all over his body.

Over the past 20 years, Adnan had been arrested a dozen times by Israeli forces for his political and anti-occupation activities. He spent a total of eight years behind bars.

He went on hunger strike four times during his detentions, the longest of which was a 67-day period in 2012 that resulted in his release and inspired other Palestinian prisoners held under administrative detention to follow suit.

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

Adnan was also arrested in 2021 and was transferred to administrative detention. He went on a hunger strike for 25 days at the time.

Source: Press TV

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