Palestinian anger after prisoner dies in Israeli jail

A Palestinian campaigner for prisoners’ rights in Israeli jails, Abdul-Nasser Ferwaneh, ruled out on Sunday the possibility that the detainee, Arafat Jaradat, passed away on Saturday because of a heart attack.

Ferwaneh said that Mr Arafat Jaradat was detained several days ago and had been subjected to severe torture on charges of taking part in ‘anti-Israeli activities.’ Even after his ill-treatment, he was denied proper medical treatment.

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Jaradat, 30, was from Sa’eer neighborhood in Hebron. He died on Saturday evening in Israel’s Majeddo prison from what the media claims was a heart attack. Immediately after his death, the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported a prison source saying that the deceased prisoner suffered a heart attack and paramedics unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him.

Upon hearing about his death, Palestinians in West Bank cities took to streets in protest. Fierce clashes erupted with the Israeli occupation forces, who tried to close down the security checkpoints between the Palestinian cities.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) blamed Jaradat’s death on Israel’s maltreatment of Palestinian prisoners in its jails. Member of Hamas political bureau, Izzat Al Reshq, said that Israeli is completely responsible for his death. “He died as a result of Israeli maltreatment and severe torture;” Al Reshq tweeted on Saturday evening.

With Jaradat’s death, the number of Palestinian fatalities in Israeli jails has now reached 203. According to Ferwaneh, 71 died under severe torture; 51 died from poor medical treatment or incorrect drug prescriptions; 74 were victims of pre-meditated murder and seven were shot to death inside their cells. Seven prisoners have died in Majeddo prison.