A Palestinian man who nearly completed his prison sentence in an Israeli jail has died, the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs reported on Thursday.
Musab Adili, 20, from the village of Osarin near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank, died in the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva last night, the Israeli Civil Administration told the Palestinian side.
Adili had been detained since 22 March 2024 and was serving a 13-month prison sentence. He was scheduled to be released in three days.
The cause of Adili’s death remains unclear due to a ban on lawyers’ visits imposed by the Israel Prison Service.
Luay Adili, his uncle, told Middle East Eye that the young man had been held in Megiddo Prison throughout his detention, and that he had been moved to Naqab Prison about a month ago.
He said his relatives had not been informed that Adili had been transferred to the hospital and that they were not aware of any health issues concerning him.
‘Two weeks ago, a prisoner was released from Naqab Prison and told us that Musab was fine and sent us his greetings. Then today, we are shocked by the news of his death without knowing any details,’ he said.
The family, who was preparing to welcome Adili next Monday after his scheduled release, is now asking to recover his body to bury him in the village.
According to the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, his death brings the number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October 2023 to 64, including at least 40 people from the Gaza Strip.
The figures include only those whose identities are known, as the whereabouts of many Palestinians are unknown among accusations of forced disappearances by the Israeli forces amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli jails since 1967 has reached 301, while the number of prisoners whose bodies are being held by the Israeli authorities has reached 73, including 62 since October 2023, according to Palestinian data.
‘Systematic crimes’
The commission accused the Israeli prison authorities of subjecting Palestinian detainees to ‘systematic crimes, most notably torture, starvation, assaults of all kinds, medical crimes, sexual assaults and the deliberate imposition of conditions that lead to their contracting serious and contagious diseases.’
‘The rising number of martyrs among prisoners and detainees will take a more dangerous turn as more time passes for thousands of them who are still held in prisons,’ the commission said in the statement announcing Adili’s death.
Two weeks ago, the Israel Prison Service announced the death of a Palestinian child from Ramallah in Megiddo Prison.
The autopsy revealed that Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmed, 17, had been subjected to systematic starvation as well as deliberate beatings.
While Israel has long been criticised for its brutal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, conditions have significantly worsened since the Gaza war.
Prisoners’ rights groups have accused Israel of pursuing a deliberate policy to kill them.
Amani Sarahneh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, told MEE that every day, a prisoner risks dying because of the horrific conditions they endure in Israeli prisons.
She described Adili’s death as a consequence of the international community’s failure to condemn the brutal treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, which has claimed a growing number of lives.
‘This eerie silence about the genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip and the other side of the genocide in Israeli prisons is increasing the number of Palestinian victims at a rapid and frightening rate,’ Sarahneh said.
As of early March, the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails had reached more than 9,500, including 350 children and 21 women.
Adili’s death coincided with Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, which is marked every year on 17 April to shed light on the plight of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.