Palestine Breaking: Israel Frees Hunger Striker Khader Adnan (Al Jazeera English)

UPDATE 1850 GMT: Ran Cohen, the Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights (Israel), has confirmed that Khader Adnan has ended his hunger strike.

UPDATE 1705 GMT: The text of the Israeli Supreme Court statement:

We have been delivered a joint notice by the representative of the Appellant and the representative of the Respondents, according to which there is no intention to extend the administrative detention beyond 17 April 2012, and (after offsetting the days of detention during which the Appellant was subjected to a criminal investigation), subject to the absence of new and significant material being added in the matter of the Appellant. In light of the above, the Appellant has ended his hunger strike and declared his retraction of the appeal.This being the case, the appeal is stricken, and the hearing schedule for today is thereby cancelled.

UPDATE 1630 GMT: The initial news has been modified. Khader Adnan has agreed to end his hunger strike. In return, he will be freed from "administrative detention" on 17 April by Israel authorities, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli Supreme Court.

Addameer, the prisoner support and human rights organisation, says Adnan's lawyer reached a deal with Israeli authorities to release his client on 17 April instead of 8 May and an agreement that the administrative detention order will not be renewed.

However, Addameer lawyer Samer Sam’an said that he is still seeking permission to visit Adnan to confirm whether or not the hunger strike will continue.

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Al Jazeera English reports:

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian detained without charge, who has been on hunger strike for more than nine weeks, his lawyer said.

The court on Tuesday started his hearing, which was brought forward by two days following an appeal by lawyer Jawad Bulus on behalf of his client.

Protesters clashed with the police in West Bank in solidarity with Adnan on Tuesday.

Last week, Bulus lodged an urgent appeal with the court to lift the administrative detention order on Adnan, who on Monday marked his 65th day of a hunger strike over his detention.

The court at first said it would hear the case on February 23. But Bulus made a fresh appeal on Monday to advance the hearing, prompting the court to reschedule the hearing, a court spokeswoman said.

Israel arrested Adnan, a 34-year-old baker, on December 17 near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, where he once served as a spokesman for the Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad.

He told lawyers and human rights organisations that masked soldiers violently broke into his house, where his mother and children were present.

Adnan said that his hands were shackled behind him and that he was thrown onto the floor of the military jeep and kicked and slapped by soldiers while they took him to the settlement of Mevo Dotan.

He began refusing food a day after his arrest and is now said to be in critical condition.

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