Palestinian prisoner dies of medical negligence in Israel custody

A 51-year-old Palestinian prisoner from the besieged Gaza Strip died as a result of medical negligence yesterday, after serving 28 years in Israeli prisons, four of which he spent in solitary confinement.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners and Former Prisoners’ Affairs Committee, Faris Baroud, 51, from Al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, died shortly after he was transferred from the Israeli Rimon prison, in southern Israel, to an Israeli hospital for intensive care following the deterioration of his health.

Baroud, who was detained in 1991 and sentenced to life in prison, in addition to 35 years for killing an Israeli settler, suffered from a hernia, liver disease and asthma while in prison.

READ: Israel arrested 67 Palestinian minors in January 

He underwent surgery last year to remove part of his kidney.

Baroud had been denied family visits for 18 years, including from his mother, Rayya Baroud.

He was due to be released as a part of a prisoner exchange deal between Palestinian factions and Israel in 2013, however, Israel backtracked on the agreement and refused to release 30 prisoners.

The Committee confirmed that 60 Palestinian prisoners have died while in Israeli detention due to medical negligence since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967.