RAMALLAH, March 24, 2025 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Civil Affairs Commission, shortly after midnight, informed the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) of the death of minor detainee Walid Khaled Ahmad, 17, in the Israeli Megiddo prison.
In a joint statement, they confirmed that Ahmad's death, from the town of Silwad near Ramallah, adds to the growing list of Palestinian detainees and prisoners who have died due to the systematic crimes perpetrated by the Israeli prison system, a pattern of abuse that has reached unprecedented levels since the onset of the genocide on October 7, 2023.
Ahmad was detained on September 30, 2024. The PPS and the Commission have stated that the circumstances surrounding his death remain unknown at this time.
They clarified that Ahmad is the 63rd detainee, whose identity has been confirmed, to die in Israeli custody since the beginning of the genocide in October 2023. Among the deceased detainees, at least 40 are from Gaza.
This marks the deadliest phase in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since 1967. The total number of Palestinian detainees and prisoners who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 has now reached 300, with many others from Gaza still subjected to the crime of enforced disappearance.
Additionally, the number of slain detainees and prisoners whose bodies are held by the Israeli authorities has risen to 72, including 61 since the start of the genocide.
The statement emphasized that Ahmad's death represents a new crime in the ongoing record of Israel’s brutal prison system, which has reached its peak since the beginning of the genocide.
The PPS and the Commission also underscored that the increasing rate of deaths among prisoners and detainees will only worsen as more time passes. Thousands remain in Israeli prisons, where they continue to face systematic abuses, including torture, starvation, various forms of assault, medical neglect, sexual abuse and the deliberate imposition of conditions leading to serious and contagious diseases.
The PPS and the Commission held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for Ahmad's death.
The statement concluded by reiterating the call for the international human rights system to take effective action and hold Israeli leaders accountable for the ongoing war crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
They called for the imposition of sanctions on Israel to isolate it internationally, restore the fundamental role of the human rights system and end the longstanding inaction throughout the genocide.
Furthermore, they demanded an end to the exceptional immunity granted to Israel by colonial powers, which has allowed it to evade accountability and punishment.
T.R.
