JERUSALEM — A 17-year-old from the West Bank who had been detained in an Israeli prison for six months without being charged passed away after collapsing under unclear circumstances. This marks the first documented case of a Palestinian teen dying in Israeli custody, according to officials. Walid Ahmad, described as a healthy high schooler prior to his arrest in September for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers, had reportedly suffered from conditions indicative of amoebic dysentery due to the poor hygiene of his prison environment.
Rights organizations have reported extensive abuse within Israeli detention centers, which are currently holding thousands of Palestinians arrested following Hamas’s attack in October 2023. Prison authorities have denied systematic abuse claims while acknowledging that detention conditions have been minimized under Israeli law.
Khalid Ahmad, Walid’s father, described his son as a lively teenager who enjoyed playing soccer until his pre-dawn arrest. Six months after several brief court appearances, no trial date had been set. In March, Walid collapse in a prison yard and died soon after, eyewitnesses among the other prisoners reported.
Walid is the 63rd Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank or Gaza to die in Israeli custody since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Authority. This represents about one-fifth of the total 300 Palestinians who have died in Israeli custody since the 1967 Mideast war. Conditions in Israeli prisons have worsened since the war’s onset, with former detainees reporting beatings, overcrowding, and inadequate medical care.
The National Security Ministry of Israel, which oversees the prison service, has stated that conditions for Palestinian detainees are reduced to legal minimum levels in an effort to deter attacks. Walid’s lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, and the Palestinian Authority’s detainee commission have emphasized the need for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, with concerns raised about the unhygienic conditions and potential spread of diseases within the prisons. An autopsy has been agreed upon by Israeli authorities, though no date has been set. The lack of treatment and the ongoing dangerous conditions within Megiddo prison have been highlighted as pressing concerns.
Source: https://time.com/7273276/walid-ahmad-death-israeli-prison/
