Prisoner Khaled Al-Abdallah killed in 'Israel's" Megiddo Prison
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The Commission of Detainees and ex-Detainees Affairs noted the horrible conditions faced by detainees inside the Megiddo prison, including abuse, neglect, and denial of medical treatment.
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Israeli security personnel stand outside Ofer military prison near Jerusalem on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025 (AP)
Palestinian detainee organizations announced the death of a Palestinian detainee in the Israeli Megiddo prison, Khaled Mahmoud Qassem al-Abdallah, with the organizations reporting grave human rights violations inside the prison.
The lawyer of the Commission of Detainees' Affairs said that all the Palestinian prisoners she visited were brought to visitation with their legs and hands tied, and the prison wardens did not leave their side at all.
She said that the prison wardens pressured her to wrap her interviews up quickly, giving her only 15 minutes to speak with each detainee, which limited their ability to speak freely and prevented the lawyer from knowing the details of their conditions in the prison.
Among the prisoners the lawyer spoke to is Kamal Ibrahim Zarifeh, a 68-year-old from Nablus, who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids, prostate infections, and scabies, which prevent him from sleeping.
Palestinian detainees left to suffer
Zarifeh said that he suffers "from several illnesses, the most difficult of which is currently hemorrhoids. My stomach is hardened, and I suffer from severe constipation due to poor food quality, which consists solely of starches—no vegetables, fruits, or soups. Our food is just rice and chickpeas. I ask for laxatives for my stomach, but there is no response. Most of the detainees suffer from constipation."
The commission noted that he was arrested on August 13, 2024, was sentenced to administrative detention for 6 months, which was renewed for an additional 6 months.
Another detainee from Nablus, Waleed Ra'fat Odeily, underwent a cornea transplant surgery before his arrest, which left him with 20 stitches in his eyes that must be removed as soon as possible, risking the transplant failing and losing his cornea, however, the Israeli prison prevents him from seeing a doctor and refuses to let him get the stitches out.
Odeily lost over 55 kgs of his original weight since 23 March 2024, when he was arrested due to the low quality of food served inside Megiddo Prison. He was sentenced to administrative detention for 6 months, which was renewed for an additional 6 months.
Ahmad Khodr al-Hasanat, a 16-year-old detainee from Beit Lahm, is suffering from scabies covering his entire body, as the prison put him in a single cell with 10 other young prisoners without being given any medical attention.
The young detainee was arrested on October 7, 2024, and was sentenced to administrative detention for 5 months, followed by another 4 months.
Israeli prison treatment kills Palestinians
The Commission of Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs shed light on the alarming conditions detainees face in Israeli prisons in November 2024, noting that most detainees are brought to visits in handcuffs.
The commission revealed in a statement that two Palestinians were killed in Israeli prisons as a result of systematic crimes committed by the Israeli occupation through slow death and deliberate medical neglect, worsened by abuse and maltreatment.
The statement highlighted that these crimes form part of a long-standing policy of the occupation targeting Palestinian detainees, encompassing acts of torture, deliberate medical neglect, and the systematic abandonment of prisoners to endure suffering and succumb to illness, emphasizing the growing number of violations committed against detainees, particularly in the context of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
Many sick prisoners face deteriorating health conditions while the occupation continues to deny them necessary medical treatment, further contributing to the rising death toll within the prisons.
Moreover, the commission revealed in September 2024 that 1,200 Palestinians were facing systematic abuse, torture, abuse, and assault in Israeli prisons, with testimonies from Palestinian detainees exposing severe violence, rape, electrocution, extreme hunger, humiliation and other forms of maltreatment.
Megiddo Prison holds a notorious reputation of severe torture and abuse, described by the Palestinian Prisoners Club as one of the central prisons where the Israeli occupation detains Palestinians.
Dozens of testimonies emerged from detainees describing the brutal acts carried out by the Israeli suppression units, involving torture and severe abuse, with systematic mistreatment mentioned in their accounts, including violent raid operations and extremely harsh detention conditions.
