Palestinian Authority calls for Khader Adnan death probe after 'execution' claims

The Palestinian foreign ministry has held Israel fully responsible for the death of prisoner Khader Adnan, calling for an international investigation into what it described as an "execution".

The ministry called for an independent commission to look into the circumstances behind Adnan’s death, "considering that it is part of what prisoners are subject to from abuse, oppression and the robbing of their rights and freedoms" in Israeli jails.

It said that it will submit the file to the International Criminal Court, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Adnan, a Palestinian hunger striker and a top figure in the Islamic Jihad group in the occupied West Bank, died in Israeli custody on Tuesday. He had been on hunger strike for 71 days in administrative detention.

He was detained again by Israeli authorities in 2019 after being released from prison following another hunger strike.

Rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel following the news of Adnan's death. 

Administrative detention orders typically last for terms of three to six months, which can be renewed indefinitely. Their use by Israel have been repeatedly criticised by rights groups.

Amnesty International said administrative detention "may be lawful in certain circumstances" in a February report that found Israel was engaged in a system of apartheid against Palestinians but added that they more often used to punish Palestinians.