The prisoner, whose identity was not released, died in Meggido Prison in the north of the country, according to the Israel Prison Service.
The Israel Prisons Service (IPS) announced on Monday the death of a 23-year-old Palestinian prisoner affiliated with Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, adding that the circumstances of his death were “under investigation.”
The prisoner, whose identity was not released, died in Meggido Prison in northern Israel, an IPS statement said.
The Fatah member, who comes from the northern city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, was arrested in June 2022 and subsequently sentenced to prison for “security crimes,” according to the same source.
“As with any case of this nature, the circumstances (of the death) are being investigated,” she added.
Circumstances of death unknown
The Prisoners Commission, a body of the Palestinian Authority, confirmed the prisoner's death and said it was working to determine details about the circumstances of his death.
On December 21, Israeli police said that as part of an investigation into the death of a Palestinian prisoner following alleged violence, about twenty prison guards had been questioned and then released “under restrictive conditions.”
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, 38-year-old Thaer Abu Assab from the town of Qalqilya in the northern occupied West Bank died in November after being beaten by prison guards in southern Israel, where he was imprisoned.
Tighter prison conditions since October 7th
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) said the case raised “serious suspicions about the transformation of the Israeli prison service from a professional detention agency into a vengeful and punitive force.”
“Six prisoners have already died in prison (…) All abuses and deaths must be investigated immediately,” he added.
At the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, the Israeli prison authorities announced tightening conditions for Palestinian prisoners: no more leaving the cell – and therefore no more visiting rooms – and no more shopping at home. Canteen or power outlets in cells and more frequent surprise searches.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, an association that advocates for their rights, there were around 7,800 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons at the beginning of December.