Hunger-striking Palestinian inmate in critical condition

A prominent Palestinian detainee who has been on a hunger strike for 48 days faces an “immediate risk” of death, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday, urging Israel to allow his family to visit in line with international conventions.

The appeal in the case of Khader Adnan comes as Israel is pushing legislation that would allow force-feeding of detainees. The bill, endorsed by the cabinet last week, is opposed by the Israeli Medical Association, whose president has denounced the practice as a form of torture.

It’s the second marathon hunger strike for Adnan, a 36-year-old senior activist in the militant Islamic Jihad group in the West Bank who has been held by Israel without charges for almost a year. In a previous stint in administrative detention in 2012, Adnan went on a 66-day fast to press for his freedom, sparking weekslong hunger strikes by hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

The Red Cross said Tuesday that he is in critical condition and asked Israel to allow family visits, as guaranteed by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Sivan Weizman of the Prison Authority said Adnan is under medical supervision at an Israeli hospital. She declined comment on his condition. She said three more detainees have begun hunger strikes over the past two weeks.

— AP