Palestinian prisoner on 55th day of hunger strike

JERUSALEM — In a high-stakes gamble, an imprisoned member of a Palestinian militant group has waged a hunger strike for almost two months, trying to draw attention to Israel's military justice system and its treatment of detainees who can be held without charge for lengthy periods.

Khader Adnan, 33, has refused food for 55 days, making his hunger strike the longest ever waged by a Palestinian detainee. With his condition rapidly deteriorating, Israeli authorities, who consider him a terrorist, are nonetheless scrambling to keep him alive. His death could turn the previously obscure Adnan into a Palestinian hero and set off new violence.

Adnan, a member of the armed group Islamic Jihad, has lost 60 pounds (27 kilograms) and now weight just 130 pounds (60 kilograms). His skin is discolored, his hair has fallen out, he cannot walk, and he has been shackled to his bed, said lawyers and his wife Randa, who have seen him in a series of Israeli hospitals.

He is drinking water that is occasionally enhanced with electrolytes and vitamins he needs to keep him alive. His condition is considered severe.

The protest could not only cost Adnan his life but could also have political implications.

Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed militant group that has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, has vowed to punish Israel if Adnan dies. The group could fire rockets into Israel from its stronghold in the Gaza Strip, where it has recently built up a powerful arsenal of new weapons.

Adnan was a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. It isn't known if he directly participated in attacks on Israelis, and officials would not say what he is suspected of.

Adnan is being held under a policy known as "administrative detention," said his lawyer, Tamar Peleg-Sryck. The system allows Israel to hold suspected militants without charge based on secret information that is not shared with lawyers. It is generally used in cases deemed high-risk.

The decision to hold him was being appealed on Thursday in a special hearing at the hospital where he is being held, said another lawyer representing Adnan, Jawad Bolous.

He is being held under guard at the hospital, and prison spokespeople say they are watching his condition closely. An Israeli official, permitted to speak only on condition of anonymity, said Adnan agreed Wednesday to receive an infusion of fluids. His lawyers and relatives denied it.