A 26-year-old Palestinian man imprisoned since June this year died in jail on Sunday, December 14.
The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society confirmed the death of Sakhr Ahmad Zaoul, held in Israel’s Ofer detention facility under administrative detention, without charges or trial, since June 11.
According to Zaoul’s family, he did not suffer from any chronic disease.
“This is a systematic mistreatment and killings of Palestinian detainees, a form of deliberate extermination, encouraged by Israeli officials, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,” a joint statement said.
Charging Israel for employing slow execution methods through a comprehensive system involving all security and prison services alongside judicial complicity, the statement said that Israel’s sole purpose was to institutionalise the destruction of Palestinian prisoners physically and psychologically.
Some of the reported methods include torture, starvation, denial of medical care, sexual assault, rape, and the exploitation of prisoners’ basic rights as tools of repression. Overcrowding and unhygienic conditions have led to the spread of diseases, including scabies, which has become a further instrument of abuse.
The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society warned that the rapid increase in prisoner deaths indicates a deliberate policy of slow killing. “At least one prisoner dies each month, while bodies of deceased detainees continue to be withheld,” the statement read.
Field executions of detainees have been documented, further underscoring the criminal nature of the Israeli system.
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