Palestinian man Nassar Taqatqa, 31, died on 16 June in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison – one month after his detention.
After his arrest on 19 June, Al Jazeera reported Taqatqa was immediately taken to the Jalameh interrogation centre. After two weeks he was taken to the Nitzan prison in al Ramleh and remained in solitary confinement according to the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies.
Although Israeli officials claim Taqatqa’s death was due to a stroke, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Taqatqa’s cousin stated that “we still haven‘t received his body but an autopsy will be conducted to find out the cause of death”.
The Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies held Israel responsible in a statement for the death suggesting it was the result of torture and medical negligence.
The Jalameh interrogation centre is infamous for its poor treatment of detainees. Many have testified undergoing physical and psychological abuses by Israeli officers.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign affairs has called for the implementation of an international commission of inquiry under the patronage of the Red Cross to investigate the circumstances of the death.
The Palestinian Ministry also stated that “the indifference shown by the international community and its organisations toward the human rights violations and crimes of the occupation authorities encourages the occupation to continue to commit such atrocities”
As reported by the Middle East Monitor, the Arab League has attributed responsibility to Israeli authorities for the death of the Palestinian prisoner.
The organisation’s assistant secretary-general for Palestine affairs and occupied Arab territories Saeed Abu Ail asserted that Taqatqa’s death further proves that Israeli officials use interrogation techniques that amount to mental and physical torture, forcing Palestinian detainees to a slow death in custody.
The Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies insisted that Taqatqa’s murder brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who have passed away in Israeli prisons to 220 since 1967.
Palestinian rights group Addameer reports that there are currently over 5,250 thousand Palestinians are in Israeli jails, among which 205 of them are children.