Palestinian detainee ends hunger strike: Lawyer

Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan has ended his 55-day hunger strike after Israel agreed to release him in two weeks, his lawyer says.

“Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike last night, after an agreement was reached to release him on July 12,” his lawyer Jawad Boulos said Sunday.

Boulos said that doctors at the Israeli hospital where he is being kept considered ways to start feeding him.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Club also confirmed that Adnan had begun to eat and drink.

On Sunday, Adnan’s family was allowed to visit him in the hospital for the first time since he began his hunger strike.

In recent days, Adnan’s health has worsened sharply, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calling for any necessary measures to protect “the detainee’s moral and physical integrity.”

The 37-year-old Palestinian detainee began his hunger strike nearly two months ago to protest the Israeli practice of the so-called administrative detention, under which Palestinians are kept behind bars without charge or trial for months or years.

Adnan had said he would not end his hunger strike until Israel agrees either to release him or bring charges against him.

Adnan, a father of six from the West Bank city of Jenin, was abducted in July 2014 as part of an Israeli abduction campaign across the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israel detained 383 Palestinians across the West Bank in December 2014.

Adnan had launched a 66-day-long hunger strike in 2012, which also led to his release following a deal with Israel.

The deal also saw the release of 2,000 other Palestinian prisoners who wanted an end to their administrative detention.

Over 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly incarcerated in 17 Israeli prisons and detention camps.