Palestinian detainee dies in Israeli custody
Ali Al-Batsh, 62, was transferred to the Soroka Hospital from the Ktzi'ot [Negev] Prison, where he was detained since December 2023, and died on 21 February, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs and the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) announced on Thursday via a joint statement.
Al-Batsh was a married father of six and brother of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Khaled Al-Batsh.
Tens of detainees have perished in Israeli custody due to the occupation's systematic violence against Palestinians in its prisons, reads the statement.
Al-Batsh is the 41st Gazan and the 62nd Palestinian to be martyred in Israeli custody since 7 October.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs and the PPS condemned Israel’s lack of transparency regarding the fate of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza in the statement, accusing authorities of withholding critical information and delaying notifications to families.
Israel’s standard response — claiming an ongoing investigation — serves to deflect international scrutiny while maintaining secrecy over detainee conditions.
Many families, they noted, are informed of their loved one's death days or even months later.
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