Khaled Shawish: 9th Palestinian killed in Israeli prisons in 4 months

By Al Mayadeen English
21 Feb 2024 16:14
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The Palestinian Prisoners Society says that the Fatah Resistance leader was subjected to a series of crimes by Israeli occupation forces in prison, which severely deteriorated his health condition.

Palestinian martyred detainee Khaled al-Shawish. (Social media)

Palestine's Commission of Detainees and the Palestinian Prisoners Club confirmed the martyrdom of detainee Khaled al-Shawish (53 years old), who was being detained in the Israeli "Nafha" prison.

Al-Shawish was a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from the town of Aqaba in the Tubas governorate, northeast of the occupied West Bank.

The martyr has been disabled since 2001, after sustaining critical injuries from being shot by Israeli forces. He was detained in 2007 and was sentenced by the occupation to 11 terms of life imprisonment. The martyr is married with four children, and two of his sons are currently detained.

53-year-old disabled Palestinian prisoner Khaled Shawish died in the Israeli prisons.

Shawish was detained in 2007 and he was serving a jail time of 11 life sentences. pic.twitter.com/75egKDBnik
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) February 21, 2024

Third detainee to have been martyred in 2024

Al-Shawish is the brother of Nasser al-Shawish, currently serving four life sentences, and of former detainee Mohammed al-Shawish, who served 11 years. He is also the brother of the martyr Musa al-Shawish, who was killed in 1992.

He is the third detainee to have been martyred in Israeli prisons since the beginning of the year, and the ninth since the Israeli occupation launched its war on Gaza last October.

Both organizations said in a joint statement that the martyred detainee was subjected to several medical crimes throughout his time in jail. His deteriorating health was a stark example of the mistreatment of sick detainees in Israeli occupation prisons. He spent the majority of his imprisonment in the Ramla clinic, known among detainees as "the slaughterhouse."

The statement explained that the detainee faced brutal interrogation when he was first detained, leading to a deterioration in his health.

Israeli bullet fragments remained lodged in his body over the years since his first injury. The prison administration resorted to providing him with painkillers containing a high percentage of narcotics.

Several years ago, he fell from his wheelchair, which resulted in a fracture in the plate earlier planted in his arm. His condition worsened significantly after undergoing surgery at "Soroka" Hospital, where he suffered from poisoning in his body. Since then, his condition has deteriorated significantly.

The two organizations held the Israeli prison administration fully responsible for the martyrdom of the detainee.

'Rise up'

Fatah movement mourned its senior leader and fighter, who was martyred after a life of struggle and resistance that exemplified sacrifice and steadfastness.

In a statement issued by the Media and Culture Commission, Fatah confirmed that al-Shawish joined the movement early on and was detained for his activities against the occupation.

The party added that his martyrdom leaves no room for doubt that the administration of the Israeli Prison Service practices a policy of medical assassination against sick prisoners. This policy aligns with the fascist statements of Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Hamas, in a statement issued by the Office of Martyrs, Wounded, and Prisoners, mourned to the Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nations, the freedom fighter who was martyred as a result of deliberate medical neglect, holding the occupation fully responsible for his martyrdom.

It confirmed that the Resistance is capable of forcing the occupation to release the prisoners soon.

Hamas called on the Palestinian people and the families of prisoners to rise up in the cities of the West Bank, the '48 occupied territories, and confront the occupation and its settlers; to let them know that the blood of the sons of Gaza, the West Bank, and the detainees will be a curse and a torment upon them.

The Resistance group also called on the free people of the world to put an end to the occupation's crimes against the prisoners and to work diligently to save them from the policy of slow death carried out by the prison administration.