21 February 2012
Last updated at 08:36 ET
A Palestinian prisoner has ended his 66-day hunger strike over his detention by Israel in a deal that will see him released in two months, officials say.
The Israeli justice ministry said it had decided to end Khader Adnan's "administrative detention", but that he would remain in custody until 17 April.
Mr Adnan has not eaten since December, when he was arrested in the West Bank.
He is widely believed to be a leader of Islamic Jihad, which Israel has designated a terrorist organisation.
The Israeli military has said that Mr Adnan - a 33-year-old baker - was arrested "for activities that threaten regional security".
Earlier this month, an Israeli military court ordered that Mr Adnan be placed for four months in administrative detention. Under Israeli law, such prisoners can be held indefinitely without trial or charge.
'Imminent danger of death'
Mr Adnan has been refusing food since 18 December - one day after he was detained at his home in the village of Arabah - in protest at what he says was a violent arrest as well as humiliating interrogation sessions.
On Tuesday, Mr Adnan's lawyers had been due to petition the Israeli Supreme Court for his release when the Israeli justice ministry announced that it had reached a deal that would see him eventually released.
"[Khader Adnan] will stop his hunger strike. They will not extend his administrative detention and he will be free on 17 April," a justice ministry spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency.
On Friday, the Israeli group Physicians for Human Rights, which has been monitoring his condition, warned that he was "in immediate danger of death", adding that he had suffered "significant muscular atrophy".
Human rights groups also criticised the conditions in which he was being held at Ziv hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed, where he was shackled to his bed by chains on both legs and one arm.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc was following Mr Adnan's case with "great concern."
"Detainees have the right to be informed about the charges underlying any detention and be subject to a fair trial," she added.
Thousands of Palestinians also took to the streets of the Gaza Strip and West Bank to demand Mr Adnan's release, while Islamic Jihad had promised revenge if he was allowed to die by the Israeli authorities.
It is unclear whether Mr Adnan has ever participated in any attacks by the Iranian-backed militant group, which has killed dozens of Israelis.
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