A 17-yr-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank, held in an Israeli prison for six months without charges, has died after collapsing under unclear circumstances, marking the first known case of a minor dying in Israeli detention, officials said, reports Breaking News.
Walid Ahmad, a healthy high school student before his arrest in September for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers, was taken in a pre-dawn raid, his family said.
Rights groups have documented instances of mistreatment in Israeli detention facilities, where thousands of Palestinians have been held since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in Gaza, reports Breaking News.
Israeli prison authorities deny systematic abuse and claim to investigate misconduct allegations, but officials acknowledge that detention conditions have been reduced to the legal minimum.
The Israeli prison service did not disclose the cause of Walid’s death, stating only that a 17-year-old detainee had died in Megiddo Prison, a facility previously accused of mistreating Palestinian inmates, and that his medical records remain confidential. They assured that all deaths in custody are investigated, reports Breaking News.
Walid’s father, Khalid Ahmad, described his son as a lively teenager who loved football before his arrest. After several brief court appearances with no trial date set, Walid collapsed on March 23 in a prison yard, striking his head and dying soon after, according to Palestinian officials citing other prisoners’ accounts.
The family believes he contracted amoebic dysentery due to poor prison conditions, an infection that can cause severe dehydration and be fatal if untreated, reports Breaking News.
Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, often without charge or trial, under administrative detention, which Israeli authorities defend as a security measure. Some detainees face repeated trial delays as authorities gather evidence.
Walid had appeared in at least four court hearings via videoconference, each lasting about three minutes, his father said. In February, four months after his arrest, his father noticed his son looked weak. Walid reportedly suffered from malnutrition and had previously contracted scabies but assured his father, “Don’t worry about me,” reports Breaking News.
His lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, said Israeli authorities denied his requests to visit Walid but that other detainees reported the teen had severe diarrhoea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. He described Megiddo Prison as the “harshest” for minors, where overcrowding forces some prisoners to sleep on the floor, and skin conditions like scabies are common.
Palestinian Authority spokesperson Thaer Shriteh stated that Walid collapsed and hit his head on a metal rod, and other prisoners’ requests for urgent medical attention were ignored, reports Breaking News.
Israeli authorities have agreed to a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death, but a date has not been set.
According to the Palestinian Authority, Walid is the 63rd Palestinian detainee from the West Bank or Gaza to die in Israeli custody since the war began. Palestinian prisoner rights groups estimate that around 300 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since the 1967 Mideast war, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
