Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody; circumstances unclear

By Awad Rjoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian prisoner died Saturday in an Israeli jail, according to prisoners' affairs groups.

Abdul Rahim Abdul Karim Amer, 59, from Qalqilya in the northern West Bank breathed his last in the Hadarim Prison in northern Israel, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.

It said Amer had been "detained since March 17, 2023 and sentenced to one month in prison for allegedly entering the 1948 occupied territories without permission."

The statement said the groups held "the (Israeli) occupation fully responsible for his death,'' noting that ''the circumstances of his death is not clear.''

Israel occupation forces arrested Amer along with his son from the town of Taybeh in the occupied territories in 1948, after they went from the West Bank in search of work inside Israel, according to the statement.

The number of prisoners and detainees who have died since October has risen to 16, including three workers, two of whom are from the Gaza Strip, it added.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied territory since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

At least 463 Palestinians have since been killed and 4,750 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling by the court in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza, where more than 33,600 victims have been killed.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul