Palestinian detainee dies in Israeli jail due to deliberate medical negligence
Palestinian prisoner advocacy organizations say a 60-year-old Palestinian detainee, Mohyee al-Din Fahmi Najem, has died in Israeli custody after enduring harsh conditions and systematic medical negligence in Israeli prisons.
In a joint statement released on Sunday, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said Najem, from Jenin, had been held under administrative detention since August 8, 2023, and had spent a total of about 19 years in Israeli prisons.
The rights groups noted that Najem’s health deteriorated drastically in recent months, with a prison visit in March revealing he was unable to walk without assistance. Despite subsequent medical examinations, he was not informed of his diagnosis.
They accused Israeli prison authorities of medical negligence, stressing that Najem was denied treatment for chronic illnesses and subjected to conditions they described as part of a “systematic policy” of abuse against Palestinian detainees.
His death brings the number of detainees and prisoners who have died since the start of the ongoing war and siege to 66, including at least 40 from Gaza, with dozens more missing under enforced disappearance.
Najem, a father of six, was reportedly in critical health and received no medical care during his detention.
The statement also said his prolonged administrative detention without trial amounted to a “compound crime.”
Najem was previously held in Naqab Prison, which rights groups say has been a site of unspeakable horrors against the detainees, particularly amid outbreaks of scabies and other conditions.
The prison is also notorious for its deteriorating hygiene and poor medical infrastructure.
Fatah, the party led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called his death “a deliberate execution,” blaming Israeli prison authorities for denying him medical care despite his serious condition.
Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over the treatment of sick Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, particularly those held without charge under administrative detention.
