NGO: Palestinian beaten to death by Israeli army

By Abdul Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH (AA) - A Palestinian detainee died Thursday in an Israeli prison only hours after his arrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to a Palestinian NGO.

"Yassin al-Saradeeh, 33, died a few hours after being arrested from his home in the West Bank city of Jericho," the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said in a statement.

“Al-Saradeeh was severely beaten by Israeli forces during his arrest at dawn today,” the statement read.

Issa Qaraqe, head of the Prisoners’ Affairs Authority (run by the Palestine Liberation Organization), accused the Israeli army of intentionally killing al-Saradeeh.

"The Israeli army arrested him at dawn and beat him severely. He was later brutally tortured and killed by the Israeli authorities," Qaraqe told Anadolu Agency.

He added: "This was a premeditated crime."

Palestinian detainees are frequently subject to abuse during arrest, Qaraqe said, going on to describe the practice as a breach of international humanitarian law.

The Israeli authorities, for their part, have yet to comment on al-Saradeeh’s death.

In a related development, Israeli forces rounded up 11 Palestinians in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said Thursday.

The individuals were arrested for "suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities," the army said in a statement without giving further details.

According to Palestinian figures, roughly 6,400 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including dozens of women and about 300 minors.

Roughly 450 of these have been placed in what Israel calls "administrative detention" where they face neither trial or charge.

Twelve members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which theoretically functions as a Palestinian parliament, also remain in Israeli custody.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for "wanted" Palestinians.