Jenin detainee Samir al-Rifai dies after seven days in Israeli custody
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Samir Mohammed al-Rifai, a 53-year-old Palestinian detainee from Rummana, Jenin, dies in Israeli custody following his arrest on July 10.
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Martyred Palestinian detainee Samir al-Rifai, in an undated picture, occupied Palestine (social media)
Palestinian detainee Samir Mohammed Yousef al-Rifai (53 years old) from the town of Rummana, Jenin, has been martyred while in Israeli custody, the Commission of Detainees and ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society said in a statement published on Thursday.
This is to be added to the record of martyrs of the Captive Movement who have ascended as a result of the organized crimes practiced by the Israeli occupation prison system in an unprecedented manner, since the beginning of the ongoing genocide, most notably torture, medical crimes, and starvation.
The commission and PPS stated that al-Rifai, a married father of five, was arrested by Israeli forces at his home on July 10. He was supposed to appear today for his first hearing at the Salem military court.
Medical neglect?
Reports shared by his family indicate that he had pre-existing heart conditions and needed continuous medical care, which the Israeli prison authority fails to provide every single time, in a clear campaign of medical neglect.
The two organizations further stated that al-Rifai's death brings the total number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees killed since the start of the genocide to 74, though this only includes those whose identities have been verified, as "Israel" continues to enforce a policy of systematic disappearances, marking this as the deadliest period ever for the Palestinian prisoners' movement.
Israeli systematic brutality kills detainees
With al-Rifai's death, the total number of identified Palestinian prisoners and detainees who have died in detention since 1967 now stands at 311.
The increasing deaths among the inmates result from "Israel's" systematic torture, medical neglect, starvation, and deliberate exposure to diseases like scabies under brutal detention conditions, the Palestinian detainees' organizations emphasized.
Al-Rifai’s death, another deliberate killing under "Israel’s" systematic brutality, was condemned by the Commission and the PPS as a direct extension of the ongoing genocide.
"This killing represents another crime for which the occupation bears full responsibility," stated the Commission and PPS, demanding that the international community finally sanction "Israel" for its war crimes. They called for breaking the systemic paralysis that has shielded the occupation from accountability throughout this genocide, ending its "unique status as a state above international law."
