RAMALLAH, May 4, 2025 (WAFA) — Palestinian administrative detainee Mohyee al-Din Fahmi Najem, 60, from Jenin, died in Israel's Soroka Medical Center after months of medical neglect in Israeli prisons, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.

Najem, a father of six and former long-term prisoner who had spent nearly 19 years in Israeli jails, was last detained on August 8, 2023, under administrative detention without charge or trial. He suffered from chronic illnesses and was denied proper medical care during his incarceration.

The Commission and the Prisoners Society confirmed that Israeli prison authorities committed a “compound crime” through prolonged arbitrary detention and systemic medical negligence. They 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.

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.

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. Since 1967, 303 Palestinian prisoners are known to have died in Israeli custody, 75 of whom remain withheld by Israel.

M.N