Former hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner again detained, released

A Palestinian imprisoned in Israel who was released after a 55-day hunger strike was detained in Jerusalem.

Khader Adnan was detained on Monday in Jerusalem’s Old City for several hours before being released. The detention came a day after he was released from an Israeli prison, where he had been held for a year.

Adnan had attempted to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, but was prevented from entering because of Israeli restrictions.

“Khader Adnan was arrested because he had no right to be in the Old City of Jerusalem where free access is allowed to West Bank Palestinians only aged 50 and above, and he is just 37,” Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri told the French news agency AFP.

Palestinian males aged 12 to 30 were denied entry into Jerusalem to mark the Laylat al-Qader, a special ceremony for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while men 30 to 50 required Israeli permits.

Adnan ended his hunger strike late last month after the Israel Prison Service agreed to release him from administrative detention, where he had been held for a year without charge or trial. He was rearrested nearly a year ago for “activities that threaten regional security.”

In 2012, Adnan was released in exchange for ending a 66-day hunger strike to protest his administrative detention.

A prisoner can be held in administrative detention, without charges being brought, for up to six months. The detention can be renewed indefinitely.