Palestine calls for UN probe into alleged executions of prisoners in Israeli jails

By Awad Rajoob and Mohammad Sio

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestine called Monday for a UN investigation into the alleged execution of prisoners in Israeli jails.

The statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed announcements from Palestinian institutions that the number of known Palestinian deaths in Israeli prisons had risen to 59 since the start of the Israeli aggression on Oct. 7, 2023 after the death of a detainee from Gaza.

It marked the highest number of prisoner fatalities since 1967, bringing the total number of those who died since 1967 to 296, it said.

Earlier in the day, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestine Prisoner’s Society said in a joint statement that they had received confirmation from the Israeli military that detainee Mus'ab Hani Haniyeh, 35, had died in an Israeli prison on Jan. 5.

Haniyeh, originally from Khan Younis in Gaza, had been detained since March 3, 2024. According to his family, he had no health issues prior to his arrest.

With Haniyeh’s death, the number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody since the start of the genocide on Oct. 7, 2023 has risen to 59, with at least 38 of them from Gaza, the statement affirmed.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed grave concern over the rising number of deaths among prisoners.

The ministry condemned the situation in the jails as a “serious escalation in the (Israeli) occupation's aggression and unprecedented torture and abuse against the prisoners,” particularly affecting the thousands of detainees whose whereabouts and fates have not been disclosed.

It called for the UN Human Rights Council's investigative committee to perform its duties and investigate the execution of detainees in Israeli prisons, which it described as a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The ministry also said that it is monitoring the situation of the prisoners with international stakeholders, urging humanitarian and legal organizations to intervene swiftly to protect the prisoners and compel Israel to fulfill its obligations towards them.

According to previous reports from the Palestine Prisoners’ Society, over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners remain in Israeli custody, not including the hundreds of Gaza detainees facing enforced disappearance.

A Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal took effect last month, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,350 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.