Khader Adnan’s Martyrdom a Crime Against Humanity

May 02, 2023

We have received with deep sadness the news of the martyrdom of Khader Adnan, a 44-year-old prisoner and a father of 9 children, who passed away after a hunger strike for more than 85 days in a protest against his unjustified administrative detention.

The Martyrdom of Khader Adnan is a premeditated murder crime, which started with his administrative detention without charges, trial, or time limit, continued with the disregard of the calls for his release, and ended with the deliberate negligence of his medical condition despite the deterioration of his health, which resulted in his martyrdom. It is apparent that Khader Adnan has been a victim of a slow and systematic execution in order to break the will of the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation jails.

In front of this horrible crime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza would like to highlight the following:

First, we hold the occupation authorities responsible for the consequences of this heinous crime and any possible escalation.

Second, we call upon the international community, its organizations, and human rights groups, most notably the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, to open an international investigation into this horrible crime considering the growing concerns that Khader Adnan has been subject to force-feeding and medical negligence, and to bring its perpetrators to justice, especially the occupation’s Minister of National Security, the extremist “Itamar Ben Gvir”.

Third, we call on the international community, its organizations, and human rights groups to exert immediate pressure on the occupation state in order to stop the unjustified arrest of Palestinians, i.e., the “administrative detention”, in contradiction to the international conventions that grant everyone the right to a fair trial and proper medical treatment.

Fourth, we call to turn the martyrdom of Khader Adnan into a starting point of public and diplomatic campaigns to free the Palestinian prisoners from the jails of the occupation. This crime presents a clear picture of the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s jails, which lack the minimum standards of human dignity and increases the concerns regarding the lives of 850 administrative detainees amid fears of a group hunger strike that risks their lives.

Fifth, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family of Khader Adnan and to the Palestinian people on the martyrdom of a national hero of the heroes of the prisoners’ movement, who wrote a bright chapter in the struggle of the Palestinian people against the last occupation in the world.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Gaza – Palestine