ARRABA, Palestinian Territories: Israel on Sunday released a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike which brought him near death in a protest against the controversial procedure allowing detainees to be held indefinitely without charge.
Khader Adnan was greeted to a hero’s welcome in his village near Jenin, in the northern West Bank, that included fireworks, songs and flags for Islamic Jihad, the militant movement to which Israel says he belongs.
Residents wore shirts donning Adnan’s picture.
The bespectacled 37-year-old, thin and with a long beard, was released before dawn in an apparent effort to limit attention to the move, initially expected at midday.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prison Authority confirmed the release but provided no other details.
Islamic Jihad congratulated Adnan in a statement for his “victory” and said a celebration was being organized in his village of Arraba for Sunday evening.
Adnan had been held for a year under administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without charge for renewable periods of six months indefinitely.
Of the 5,686 Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel, 379 are detained under the procedure.
His hunger strike, which had brought him near death by the time it concluded last month, had sparked warnings from the Palestinian government that it held Israel responsible for his fate.
Regular protests were organized in support of him.
Adnan ended his hunger strike on June 28 after Israel agreed to release him, at which point he was transferred to an Israeli hospital.
Condition withdrawn
An Israeli official said at the time that the deal was made possible after Adnan withdrew his demand that Israel undertake never again to place him under administrative detention.
The official said Adnan’s deteriorating health and appeals from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority had contributed to the decision to release him.
He was detained a year ago, shortly after the kidnapping and murder of three young Israelis, which triggered the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The killings were part of an upsurge in violence in the run-up to the 2014 Gaza war.
Adnan had previously gone on hunger strike for 66 days in 2012 to protest against his detention.
He was released at the end of the protest, during which he had ingested vitamins and salt.
He refused to swallow anything except water during his most recent detention.
A long list of Palestinian prisoners have gone on hunger strike, including nearly 2,000 in 2012 to protest against the administrative detention policy.
The Israeli government in mid-June renewed efforts for legislation that would allow prisoners to be force-fed when their lives are in danger, sparking criticism from health experts and rights groups.
The bill was initially approved by the government in June 2014 at the height of another mass hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners during which 80 were hospitalized.
The Palestinian leadership submitted a report to the International Criminal Court last week that included the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Resistance wins: Palestinian is freed after 56-day hunger strike
Resistance wins: Palestinian is freed after 56-day hunger strike
Trump claims Iran working on missiles that could hit US
- Trump says his preference is diplomacy, but would never allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Iran is seeking to develop missiles that can strike the United States and accused Tehran of working to rebuild a nuclear program that was targeted by American strikes last year.
The United States and Iran are engaged in high-stakes negotiations over Iran’s atomic program and other issues including missiles, with Trump saying he prefers diplomacy but is willing to use force if talks fail.
“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said during his State of the Union address.
In 2025, the US Defense Intelligence Agency said Iran could potentially develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability,” but did not say if it had made such a decision.
Tehran currently possesses short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges that top out at about 1,850 miles (3,000 kilometers), according to the US Congressional Research Service.
The continental United States is more than 6,000 miles from Iran’s western tip.
Washington and Tehran have concluded two rounds of talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear program to replace the agreement that Trump tore up during his first term in office.
‘Preference’ is diplomacy
The United States has repeatedly called for zero uranium enrichment by Iran but has also sought to address its ballistic missile program and support for armed groups in the region — demands Iran has rejected.
Iran has also repeatedly rejected that it is pursuing nuclear weapons.
Trump ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last year, claiming afterward that Tehran’s atomic program was obliterated.
On Tuesday, he said Iran wants “to start all over again,” and that it is “at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions.”
Trump has sent a massive US military force to the Middle East, deploying two aircraft carriers as well as more than a dozen other ships, a large number of warplanes and other assets to the region.
He has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if negotiations fail to reach a new agreement. Talks with Tehran are currently set to continue on Thursday.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
The US president’s speech primarily focused on domestic issues, making no mention at all of China — Washington’s primary military and economic rival — and only briefly referring to Russia.
Trump said he was working to end the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and repeated his inaccurate claim that he had brought eight other wars to an end since returning to office in January 2025.
He also hailed NATO’s decision to spend five percent of gross domestic product on defense — a move made under heavy pressure from Trump and his administration.
