Palestinian detainee dies in Israel custody

RAMALLAH: Two Palestinian organizations that monitor the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails announced on Sunday the death of a detainee in an Israeli hospital.
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that Israeli officials had informed Palestinian officials about the “martyrdom of prisoner Mohammed Munir Moussa from Bethlehem at Soroka Hospital in Israel.”
Moussa, 37, had been detained by Israel since April 2023 and had been suffering from diabetes before his arrest. Until now, there was no information available about the circumstances of his death, according to the two Palestinian organizations.
Israel currently detains more than 9,600 Palestinians — including more than 5,000 who were arrested after Oct. 7, 2023, following the outbreak of war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel — according to data provided by Palestinian officials.
The head of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees, Qaddura Fares, accused Israel of taking “revenge” on Palestinian detainees after the Hamas attack.
His agency is part of the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank.
With the death of Moussa, the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody has risen to 41 since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian officials.
Of those, 24 were from Gaza.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, 278 Palestinians are known to have died in Israeli prisons, according to these organizations.
The issue of detainees in Israel has become a central point in the war between Israel and Hamas, with the Palestinian movement demanding the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages taken captive during the attack that began the war.
Out of 251 people taken hostage by militants on Oct. 7 last year, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.