Key facts
- Imad Sarhan, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, died in Israeli custody at Gilboa Prison.
- Sarhan, 48, had been detained for over 24 years and subjected to solitary confinement.
- Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old from the West Bank, died in Megiddo Prison.
- Ahmad's death was attributed by his family to starvation and poor prison conditions.
- An Israeli judge closed the investigation into Ahmad's death, citing an undeterminable cause despite evidence of starvation.
Imad Sarhan, a 48-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel, died in Gilboa Prison, the Israeli Prison Service announced on Sunday. Sarhan had spent over 24 years in Israeli detention and endured several years in solitary confinement. His death marks the latest in a series of Palestinian fatalities within Israeli correctional facilities.
Separately, Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old from the West Bank, died in Megiddo Prison six months after his arrest for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers. Palestinian officials stated he is the first Palestinian under 18 to die in Israeli detention. His family believes he contracted amoebic dysentery from poor prison conditions, leading to his collapse and death. Eyewitness accounts from other prisoners suggest he collapsed in a prison yard and struck his head.
An investigation into Ahmad's death, overseen by Israeli Judge Ehud Kaplan, was closed in December. Despite an autopsy report indicating starvation was likely the leading cause, the judge determined there was no causal connection to a crime, thus halting the probe. The ruling, unsealed by Haaretz, highlighted the handling of Palestinian detainees, particularly minors.
Rights groups and former detainees have documented widespread abuse and deteriorating conditions in Israeli detention facilities since the start of the war in Gaza. These include beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, scabies outbreaks, and poor sanitation. Israel's National Security Ministry, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, has acknowledged reducing conditions for Palestinian detainees to the minimum required by law, citing deterrence as the policy's aim. Prison authorities deny systematic abuse and state that all deaths are investigated.