Prisoner

Ahmad Abu Ali

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February 10, 2023: Ahmad Abu Ali, 48, died in Israeli prison due to medical neglect by the Israeli prison authorities.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) reported that a detainee from Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, died at an Israeli medical center after he was denied essential medical treatment and was only moved to Soroka medical center when he neared death.

The PPS said the detainee Ahmad Abu Ali, 48, from Yatta town south of Hebron, was two years away from finishing his twelve-year prison sentence.

It added that the married father of nine had various chronic health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, but did not receive the needed professional medical treatment and health checkups, an issue that caused further complications.

The PPS held Israel responsible for Ahmad’s death, especially after deliberately neglecting his urgent medical needs, and demanded the Israeli occupation authorities to release detailed and credible information about the health conditions of all ailing detainees and those who were shot before being abducted and imprisoned.

“What happened with Ahmad is part of ongoing Israeli violations against the detainees, especially denying them the right to proper and professional medical treatment; this is an illegal policy that slowly kills the ailing detainees,” the PPS said, “Many Palestinians detainees have died in Israeli prisons, including the few past years, because they didn’t receive the needed medical treatment, and several others were tortured to death.”

Following his death, the Israeli authorities closed all sections and all prisons where Palestinian detainees are held and enforced a strict lockdown, anticipating protests and hunger strikes by the detainees.

The Palestinian detainees in all prisons and detention centers have decided to return all their meals and declared a three-day strike to mourn Ahmad’s death.

Ahmad‘s death brings the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 to 235, including 75 patients. Dozens of former detainees also died from medical conditions that went untreated while imprisoned by Israel for many years.

More than 600 Palestinian detainees suffer from various health conditions, including 24 who have various forms of cancer.

Ahmad was from Yatta town south of Hebron. Source: IMEMC

Sa’diyya Farajallah

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July 02, 2022: Sa’diyya Farajallah, 68, died in an Israeli prison less than seven months after Israeli soldiers abducted her. Sa’diyya was the oldest female detainee imprisoned by Israel.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Sa’diyya, from Ethna town west of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, died at the ad-Damoun Israeli prison.

The PPS stated that Farajallah, a married mother of eight, was the oldest Palestinian female detainee in Israeli prisons and that she was abducted by the Israeli soldiers on December 18, 2021, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, after she was injured when many illegal Israeli colonizers attacked her.

Update: On Thursday August 11, 2022, Israel released her corpse before the Palestinians held her funeral procession after the deceased was examined by specialist at the Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron. Read More

The Israeli authorities prevented her family from visiting her throughout her imprisonment; she died at the Damoun Israeli prison.

The woman had diabetes and high blood pressure, diabetes, a heart condition, and various chronic illnesses, and was taking various medications before she was taken, prisoner.

Akram Samara, a lawyer of the Palestinian Detainees Committee, said he saw her last time last Tuesday in court, adding that she was in a wheelchair, unable to speak, and looked very fragile.

Samara said the Israeli authorities refused to provide medical reports detailing her health condition and were denying her the right to medical treatment during her imprisonment.

Her family held Israel accountable for her death, especially since she was denied access to medical attention and her medications and called on the International Community to act and help save the lives of the Palestinian detainees, especially the ones holding extended hunger strikes demanding an end to their arbitrary Administrative Detention without charges or trial.

Sa’diyya died at the Damoun Israeli prison after eight months in prison, including two months in solitary confinement despite her health and chronic conditions.

Her brother, Taiseer Farajallah, demanded an autopsy to know the cause of death and added that the soldiers repeatedly struck and beat his sister, after they claimed she tried to stab a colonizer, near the Ibrahimi Mosque while she was on her way to visit her two married daughters, living in the Old City of Hebron.

“My sister was a woman who struggled to provide for her family despite the dire financial situation,” Taiseer stated.

Sa’diyya’s son, Mohammad, described what happened to his mother as a crime and that his family was not allowed to visit her, adding that when they saw her in court and were not allowed to talk to her, she looked very weak and extremely ill, even unable to speak.

Her death brings the number of detainees who died in Israeli prisons since 1967 to 230.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) called for an immediate investigation into her death.

The PPS quoted a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society stating that a court hearing was held last Tuesday for Sa’diyya, who is the eldest among the female prisoners detained in the Israeli jails.

The statement added that she attended the hearing in a wheelchair, and her lawyer had already asked the Israeli prison service to refer her to a doctor after her medical examinations showed that her health condition was getting worse due to high diabetes and pressure.

“The Israeli Prosecution asked in the hearing that she should be sentenced to five years in prison and 15,000 shekels fine, in compensation; however, no definitive sentence has been so far issued,” the PPS said.

Sa’diyya was among twenty-nine female detainees, including Maysoun Mousa from Bethlehem, who was taken prisoner in 2015 and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, in addition to Shorouq al-Badan and Bushra Tawil, who are held under the Administrative Detention orders without charges or trial.

Nofouth Hammad

Israel is also still holding captive ten Palestinian mothers and a female child Nofouth Hammad, 15, who was tortured during interrogation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah held Israel responsible for her death and called on the International Community to investigate her death and ensure the release of all female detainees, children, elders, and ailing political prisoners.

Sa’diyya was from Ethna town west of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Source: IMEMC

Ihab al-Kilani

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May 17, 2022: Ihab al-Kilani, 40, died due to complications from Israeli medical negligence while he was imprisoned by Israel.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported that Ihab al-Kilani, a resident of Nablus city, died a month after being released from Israeli imprisonment.

It pointed that al-Kilani was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after ending his 6-month administrative detention term, during which he was subjected to deliberate medical negligence.

The last time al-Kilani, a father of four – the youngest of whom is a three-year old girl, was arrested was in October 2021, and he spent four years and a half in Israeli imprisonment, mostly placed under administrative detention.

PPS presented statistics showing that 22 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody are suffering from different degrees of cancer, most notably Nasser Abu Hamid, a 49-year-old resident of Al-Amari camp who has been detained since 2002 and is serving seven life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison.

PPS added that 600 prisoners are sick, including 200 who suffer from chronic diseases while holding the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for al-Kilani’s death and its repercussions.

Israel’s widely condemned practice of administrative detention allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

The US State Department has said in past reports on human rights conditions for Palestinians that administrative detainees are not given the “opportunity to refute allegations or address the evidentiary material presented against them in court.”

Amnesty International has described Israel’s use of administrative detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and has long called on Israel to bring its use to an end.

According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support, and Human Rights Association, there are currently 4,450 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers.

This number includes approximately 530 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

Mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

Ihab was from Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Sami al-‘Amour

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November 18, 2021: Sami al-‘Amour, 39, died at an Israeli medical center after years of medical neglect despite having congenital heart disease, and his need for constant follow-up.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has confirmed the detainee’s death and stated that Sami was taken prisoner by the Israeli army in the year 2008 and was sentenced to nineteen years in prison.

Sami was transferred to an Israeli hospital on Wednesday at night, where he was officially pronounced dead by the physicians.

His fiancé, who remained engaged to him for fourteen years since his abduction, said that the family received the news about his death from media outlets.

It is worth mentioning that only his mother was able to visit with him just a few times since his abduction due to Israeli restrictions.

His sister said that the last time the family was able to talk to him over the phone was before he was sent to the Israeli hospital when he informed them that he was being transferred cuffed and sitting in a wheelchair.

The PPS said the detainee was born with congenital heart disease and has been receiving specialized treatment for his condition until he was abducted and imprisoned by Israel.

The PPS held Israel accountable for his death especially since he should have been monitored and examined by heart specialists.

It also said that al-Amour was transferred, a few days ago, from Nafha prison to Asqalan, and was just recently moved to Soroka Israeli medical center where he underwent two surgeries, including one that was performed just a day before his death.

Al-‘Amour was from Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Hussein Masalma

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September 22, 2021: Hussein Masalma, 39, died from Leukemia that went untreated when he was imprisoned by Israel for 19 years. He was only was recently released after his condition seriously deteriorated, and died at a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah, in central West Bank.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said Masalma,  from the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, was released from an Israeli prison in February of this year when his condition became extremely serious after he was denied the right to receive the urgently-needed specialized medical treatment for his Leukemia.

The PPS added that the detainee was first moved to Hadassah Israeli medical center, before being sent, a week ago, to the Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah.

The PPS held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially since he was subject to medical neglect while in prison, and only started receiving treatment when his condition became life-threatening.

Masalma started suffering from complications and sharp pain in late 2020, and it took Israel more than a month to send him to the clinic of the Negev Desert detention camp and was only moved to an Israeli hospital when his condition became very serious, where he was diagnosed with End-Stage Leukemia.

The Palestinian was taken prisoner by the Israel army in the year 2002 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He spent 19 years in prison before he was released due to his serious medical condition.

His release came after various appeals, deliberations, and delays by Israeli courts before his lawyer filed an appeal with the Israeli High Court.

In an interview with the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), in February of this year, Masalma stated that he has been suffering for two years and that the Israeli physicians didn’t render an accurate diagnosis to his condition.

“For more than two years I have been suffering, and they couldn’t diagnose my condition currently,” he said, “It is not just me, there are so many detainees suffering from serious conditions.”

The PPS said that many Palestinian political prisoners, especially those who have been held captive by Israel for more than 20 years are facing serious health conditions, including cancer.

It called on various regional and international human rights and legal groups, including the World Health Organization, to act on ensuring the release of all ailing Palestinian detainees from Israel prisons and to send an independent medical committee to look into these cases.

Masalma was from the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem in occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Hasan Shabrawi

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 August 22, 2021: Mohammad Hasan Shabrawi, a former political prisoner, who was held by Israel and denied medical treatment, has died while receiving the needed medical attention in Turkey.

Montaser Sammour, the head of the Jenin office of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), in northern West Bank, said Shabrawi was imprisoned by Israel for five years (2013-2018), and was denied medical treatment for his liver disease while in detention, an issue that caused him serious complications.

Despite being released three years ago, and undergoing treatment in the West Bank, Shabrawi faced numerous complications, before he was transferred to a hospital in Turkey, and was supposed to undergo and kidney transplant, but died on Sunday, August 22nd.

In April 2020, the PPS said a detainee, identified as Nour Jaber Barghouthi, 23, was from ‘Aboud town, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, died in the Negev Desert Detention Camp, after fainting in the shower, and Israeli soldiers failed to provide him with any medical aid for more than thirty minutes.

The PPS addd that Israel is also still holding the remains of five deceased detainees, identified as Anis Doula who died of medical neglect in the year 1980, Aziz Oweisat, 53, who died on May 20, 2018, at an Israeli hospital from serious complications after he was assaulted by several Israeli soldiers in the prison, Fares Baroud, 51, who died on February 6, 2019, of medical neglect in an Israeli prison, Nassar Taqatqa, 31, who died after having been tortured in an Israeli prison on July 16, 2019, and Bassam Sayeh, 47, who died on September 8, 2019, in an Israeli prison, due to medical neglect.

The number of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli prisons since the year 1967 after Israel occupied the rest of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, to 273.

More than 73 of the detainees who died in Israeli prisons since 1967 were tortured to death, 67 died after not receiving the needed medical treatment, 75 were shot to death after being captured, and seven were killed by Israeli army fire while in prison.

Mohammad was from Jenin refugee camp, in Jenin, in northern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

 

Abdo Yousef Tamimi

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Abdo TamimiJuly 21st, 2021: Abdo Yousef Khatib Tamimi, 43, died while in Israeli custody at the al-Maskobiyya detention center and interrogation facility in Jerusalem. His family said he was tortured while under interrogation.

Hasan Abed-Rabbo, the media advisor of the Palestinian Detainees’ Committee, stated that Abdo Yousef Khatib Tamimi, 43, from Shu’fat refugee camp, died while being held at the interrogation center.

According to Abed-Rabbo, Abdo Tamimi had been taken prisoner on Sunday, due to a traffic citation and because he was driving his car without a driver’s license.

Abed-Rabbo held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially since the interrogation facility did not reveal sufficient information regarding his death, except for claiming that he suffered a heart attack.

The Palestinian was a married father of four children, and his wife is also pregnant.

His cousin said that Abdo was beaten up by the soldiers and added that the army abducted seven of his relatives for protesting his death.

He stated that the family received information from Palestinians who were detained in the same facility, informing them that Abdo was tortured and beaten up by the soldiers during interrogation.

The Tamimi family demanded an autopsy that would be attended by a Palestinian doctor and added that the young man was healthy and that he was tortured, including being subjected to electric shocks.

Abdo was from Shu’fat refugee camp near Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Eyada Salahuddin

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January 12th, 2021: Mohammad Eyada Salahuddin, 20, died of cancer just a few months after being released from Israeli prison, where he was diagnosed with cancer but left untreated for years.

The Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Committee stated that Mohammad Eyada Salahuddin, 20, from Hizma town, east of the occupied Palestinian capital Jerusalem, has died from cancer, and added that he was diagnosed while in Israeli prisons, but the occupation authorities failed to provide him with the necessary specialized medical treatment.

It added that Israel released the young man only a few months ago, after it became clear that his condition was profoundly serious when cancer spread to several parts of his body.

The Committee also said that it fought for his release by filing many appeals with Israeli courts, before the detainee’s condition witnessed a serious deterioration, and held Israel responsible for his death.

Qadri Abu Bakr, the head of the Detainees Committee, said Israel deliberately and callously denied the urgently needed specialized medical treatment to the detainee and added that Mohammad’s death was nothing short of a premeditated crime.

On its part, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) issued a statement mourning the detainee and stating that he is among a long list of detainees who because seriously ill in Israeli prisons and died shortly after their release, due to Israel’s deliberate medical neglect policies against the Palestinian political prisoners.

He added that many detainees have recently been diagnosed with cancer, and are denied specialized medical attention.

It is worth mentioning that Salahuddin was taken prisoner in April of 2019, and was sentenced to two years in prison. In July of 2020, he was officially diagnosed with cancer while in prison.

There are at least 700 detainees in Israeli prisons who suffer from various health conditions, including 270 who have serious illnesses, such and liver and kidney diseases, and twelve who have cancer.

Former political prisoner and the head of the Documentation Department of the Palestinian Detainees’ Committee, Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, told the IMEMC that the death of Mohammad under these conditions is not the first, as Israel has a longstanding policy of depriving the detainees of the basic medical treatment, they need.

He added that Israel keeps committing these crimes and getting away with them, due to the absence of accountability in international courts, and called for shedding closer attention to dire and inhumane conditions the Palestinian detainees face in Israeli prisoners.

Ferwana also said that there is a significant rise of cancer cases among the Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, and described what Israel is doing as organized medical crimes against them.

He called for ensuring professional and comprehensive medical checkups on all former prisoners immediately after they are freed, especially since many start showing symptoms after their release.

Mohammad was from Hizma town, east of the occupied Palestinian capital Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Daoud Tal’at Khatib

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Daoud KhatibSeptember 3, 2020: Daoud Tal’at Khatib, 45, died in Ofer Israeli prison, and added that the only information the Israeli authorities are giving so far indicates he died from a heart attack.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society issued a statement mourning the detainee, identified as Daoud Tal’at Khatib, 45, from Bethlehem, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, and added that the detainee was abducted by the soldiers in April 2002, and was sentenced to 18 years and eight months in prison. He was only a few months away from being released.

The PPS added that Israel is claiming he died from a heart attack, but without any further information, and added that the detainee, throughout the years of imprisonment, has faced numerous health complications, including a heart attack a few years ago, in addition to undergoing an open-heart surgery.

The one statement given by Israel alleged that the detainee “fainted while in his room in Ofer Prison, and that guards tried to revive him, but he passed away.”

The PPS added that Israel rejected various appeals for Daoud’s release on humanitarian grounds so that he can receive the needed treatment at specialized medical centers.

It is worth mentioning that both of his parents died while he was in prison. The deceased detainee was held at the Negev Desert Detention camp.

His death brings the number of detainees who died in Israeli prison since 1967 to 225, including dozens who were tortured to death and others who were shot while in prison.

The PPS called on international human rights groups and legal organizations to practice pressure on Israel to improve the continuously declining living conditions of the detainees, and to release all ailing prisoners, especially amidst the current coronavirus pandemic, and added that Israel’s prison system where the Palestinians are held lacks basic requirements as the prisons have chronic sanitization issues, bad air ventilation, in addition to awful smells, infestations of bugs and cockroaches among other things.

It added that Ofer Prison, where the detainee died, has recently witnesses a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections among the detainees.

Daoud was from Bethlehem, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Nour Jaber Barghouthi

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April 22, 2020: Nour Jaber Barghouthi, 23, died in the Negev Desert Detention Camp, after he fainted in the shower, and Israeli soldiers failed to provide him with any medical aid for more than thirty minutes.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society stated that the detainee, Nour Jaber Barghouthi, 23, was from ‘Aboud town, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and added that he was abducted by the soldiers four years ago, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

It stated that the detainee was showering in Section 25 of the Negev Detention camp when he collapsed and lost consciousness.

The PPS held Israel fully responsible for the death of the detainee and denounced its deadly neglect of basic, internationally guaranteed rights of the detainees in direct violation of all related International laws, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

On his part, the head of the Palestinian Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees Committee, Qadri Abu Bakr, said that Israel continues to abuse the detainees, violate their basic rights, in addition to its constant use of torture during interrogation, and the continuous invasions and violent searches of the detainees’ rooms.

Abu Bakr added that the detainees are also denied professional medical attention in Israeli prisons, especially those suffering from cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, and other serious health conditions.

Barghouthi’s death brings the number of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli prisons since the year 1967 after Israel occupied the rest of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, to 273.

Israel is also still holding the remains of five deceased detainees, identified as Anis Doula, who died of medical neglect in the year 1980, Aziz Oweisat, 53, who died on May 20, 2018, at an Israeli hospital from serious complications after he was assaulted by several Israeli soldiers in the prison, Fares Baroud, 51, who died on February 6, 2019, of medical neglect in an Israeli prison, Nassar Taqatqa, 31, who died after having been tortured in an Israeli prison on July 16, 2019, and Bassam Sayeh, 47, who died on September 8, 2019, in an Israeli prison, due to medical neglect.

It is worth mentioning that 73 of the detainees who died in Israeli prisons since 1967 were tortured to death, 67 died after not receiving the needed medical treatment, 75 were shot to death after being captured, and seven were killed by Israeli army fire while in prison.

Nour was from ‘Aboud town, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Source: IMEMC