Hader Adnan, an official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, died today after an 87-day hunger strike to protest his detention in Israel, the first time a Palestinian prisoner has died under such conditions in more than three decades.

Adnan was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead despite efforts to revive him, Israel’s prison service said.

The Palestinian had refused to undergo any treatment or medical tests.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in the Gaza Strip to express their support for Adnan and to mourn his death. At the same time, the Israeli army announced that three rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave against Israel. In addition, merchants closed their shops in the occupied West Bank, following a call for a general strike.

Since 2011, Adnan has gone on hunger strike four times to protest his detention without charge by Israeli authorities. Several Palestinians have gone on hunger strike but no one has died since 1992.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Union, Adnan had been arrested 12 times by Israeli authorities and had spent eight years in prison, mostly under administrative detention, a measure that allows detention without charge or trial.

This time Adnan was arrested for his involvement in Islamic Jihad and for rhetoric inciting violence, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Countering the prison service’s version, Adnan’s lawyer, Jamil al-Khatib, accused the Israeli authorities of denying him medical attention.

“We requested that he be transferred to a civilian hospital where he could be properly monitored. Unfortunately, our request was met with intransigence and rejection,” al-Khatib complained to Reuters.

Lina Kasem-Hassan of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel said she visited Adnan on April 23. By then he had lost 40 kg and was having trouble breathing but was conscious.

“His death was preventable,” she said, explaining that several Israeli hospitals had refused to treat Adnan after he was admitted to their emergency department.

“Hander Adnan chose the hunger strike as a last resort, a non-violent means to protest the oppression he and his people are suffering,” the organization commented today.

During a press conference from their home in Araba, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, his wife Rada Musa said Adnan’s death was a source of “pride”.

He told AFP on Friday that his detention conditions were “very difficult” and that Israeli authorities refused to take him to a hospital or allow his lawyer to visit him.

Adnan, 45, was originally from Jenin, in the West Bank. Islamic Jihad sources said he was one of the organization’s political leaders.

“The battle continues”

“Our battle continues and the enemy will realize once again that their crimes will not go unpunished,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israel said it had canceled a planned military exercise in the Gaza Strip until “the situation is assessed” while putting prison workers on high alert. In the West Bank, the Israeli army said a man was injured by broken glass and two vehicles were damaged by bullets, adding that it was searching for the attackers.

No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza or the incident in the West Bank.