Israeli Hanging Judge Sentences Khader Adnan to Death
Official Israeli policy wants Palestinians ethnically cleansed or dead.
by Stephen Lendman
On Monday, military Judge Moshe Tirosh rejected Adnan's appeal as expected. Israel wants him dead. In his 59th day without food, his life hangs by a thread.
Tirosh called his decision "balanced." He claimed secret evidence justified him. He also called him an Islamic Jihad party political leader. Doing so effectively designated him a terrorist unjustly.
He ignored legal arguments, including no evidence warranting detention.
At one demonstration, Israeli security forces viciously attacked protesters, injuring 23 and making arrests. It's standard official thuggishness against Palestinians expressing their views nonviolently.
Following Tirosh's decision, 600 Gilboa Prison detainees hunger struck in solidarity. Other West Bank demonstrations were held. Israeli forces confronted them violently. Islamic Jihad promises "painful revenge" if Adnan dies.
The Addameer prisoner support group calls administrative detention use arbitrary. It also affirmed everyone's free expression, assembly and association rights, regardless of political affiliation.
Tirosh downplayed accusations about Adnan's torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. He said they're inflated and magnified. He accused Adnan of exaggerating what happened. He called his life-threatening condition his own fault. His deteriorating health didn't influence his ruling. He got orders and followed them.
Tirosh showed appalling contempt for human life. He decision condemned Adnan to death.
His lawyer Jawad Boulus accused him of ignoring his fading health, never mind his innocence and victimization.
"We head to military courts without any hope of any type of justice," he said. "This ruling cannot be justified, especially since Khader is facing death due to his deteriorating health condition."Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe said the ruling showed "utter disregard for Adnan's life, effectively condemning him to die. This decision is premeditated murder. With this decision, Israel has decided to kill" Adnan.
"What it has been doing for the past 57 days is a crime against humanity as a result of its decision to arbitrarily detain him" uncharged.
