Number of Palestinians who Died in Israeli prisons rises

Ramallah, Oct. 21. - The number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the aggression against the Gaza Strip in October 2023 has now reached 80, a related NGO alerted today.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club denounced in a statement that Kamel Mohammad Mahmoud Al-Ajrami, 69, died in a hospital on October 10 after being transferred from Negev prison.

Al-Ajrami joins the list of martyrs who lost their lives in these facilities as a result of the systematic killings practiced by the Israeli penitentiary system, which escalated to an unprecedented level since the start of the war, it emphasized.

"The murder of prisoners represents another aspect of this genocide," the organization stated.

According to the Club, since the 1967 war and the subsequent occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the number of Palestinians who have died in that country's prisons totals 317.

It also condemned the systematic calls from Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, to pass a law in Parliament to execute Palestinian prisoners.

In July, Ben-Gvir publicly boasted about his policy of starvation against detainees.

Ben-Gvir's comments were made during a session of the Supreme Court considering a petition filed against the reduction of the food menu provided to Palestinian inmates.

"I am here to make sure that the terrorists (referring to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners) receive the minimum" of food, asserted the far-right politician, known for his anti-Arab and expansionist stances.

Last week, the Palestinian Center for the Defense of Prisoners accused Israel of practicing state terrorism against detainees in its prisons, calling on the UN to act against these violations.

"Intimidation, beatings, and humiliation occur in secret, and although these abuses have been leaked, they are much more severe than what we know," Lina al-Tawil, director of the institution, denounced in an interview with the Safa news agency.

The repression units of the Israeli Prison Service have increased raids on prisoners' sections and cells, brutally assaulting them daily under unjustified pretexts, the institution recently denounced in a statement.

In this regard, it alerted about the use of stun grenades, tear gas, batons, and police dogs against the inmates.

Palestinian prisoners suffer from overcrowding, poor ventilation, little food, and deficient health coverage, it assured. (Text and photo: PL)