1 more Palestinian detainee dies in Israeli custody

By Aysar Alais and Rania Abu Shamala

RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) – Another Palestinian detainee died in Israeli detention on Monday, taking the death toll to 80 since October 2023, prisoners’ affairs groups said.

Kamel al-Ajrami, 69, from Gaza, breathed his last at Soroka Hospital, southern Israel, the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

According to the statement, Ajrami was detained on Oct. 25, 2024.

His death brought the number of Palestinians who died in Israeli detention since October 2023 to 80.

The groups held Israel “fully responsible” for the death of Ajrami, renewing their call for international human rights organizations to take effective measures to hold Tel Aviv accountable.

The new fatality came shortly after far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened that his party would not vote in favor of government bills unless a death penalty law for Palestinian prisoners is approved within three weeks.

The bill must pass three readings in the Knesset before becoming law.

At the end of September, a parliamentary committee approved a bill that would allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners accused by Israel of carrying out attacks, for a first reading in the Knesset.