Islamic Jihad hunger striker supporters clash with Israeli security forces

There were reports of a second day of sporadic violent clashes with Israeli security forces on Monday after around 150 protesters gathered outside Ofer prison, west of Ramallah, in protest over the ongoing incarceration of Khader Adnan who is in the 58th day of a hunger strike.

Reuters/Mohamad Torokman

Local media reported that soldiers began firing tear gas at protesters before they had a chance to exit the buses hired to carry them from the local Birzeit University.

Some protestors waved Palestinian flags or threw stones from behind a low barrier constructed from plastic road blocks and tyres.

Around 25 Israeli Defence Force, IDF,  soldiers watched the protestors gather behind the barrier and in the centre of the road, before moving forward to disperse them with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition.

The soldiers then moved back to allow protestors to regroup before resuming their fire, a process that repeated itself over the course of four hours.

Casualties were fewer than Saturday but appeared more severe.

The first day had seen heavier use of tear gas and sustained bursts of fire with rubber bullets prior to the use of live ammunition.

One man working for the Palestinian Red Crescent told RFI that IDF tactics had altered on the second day of protest.

Adnan is the spokesperson for the political wing of the Islamic Jihad movement.

Tuesday will see his 58th day of hunger strike since his detention without charge, receiving a further four-month administration detention order as well as having his right to appeal denied.