RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

The Palestinian Prisoners Society warned Sunday that the life of Ahmad Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is at serious risk after he was subjected to a severe beating in Israeli prisons.

Abdullah al-Zaghari, the head of the society, told Anadolu that Saadat, 72, was “severely beaten” during his transfer from Megiddo prison in northern Israel to Gilboa prison in the south, without providing further details about the incident or its exact date.

“Saadat’s health condition is difficult, and the Israeli assaults pose a threat to his life,” he said.

Zaghari added that the attack on Saadat comes “as part of the ongoing targeting of leaders of the prisoners’ movement under the instructions of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.”

“Israeli policies pose a threat to Saadat’s life and the lives of all leaders of the prisoners’ movement, who are subjected to brutal assaults despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”

Zaghari called for “providing protection for the detainees, who are living under extremely harsh and oppressive conditions.”

Saadat has been imprisoned in Israel since 2006, serving a 30-year sentence in connection with the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.

Harsh conditions

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs warned that detainees held at Israel’s Ofer military prison, west of Ramallah, are facing “harsh and humiliating” detention conditions.

The commission said one of the detainees, Ahmed Hareesh, from the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, suffers from severe stomach pain suspected to be caused by bacteria.

“Yet, he only receives painkillers, while the doctor takes hours to arrive and sometimes does not come at all,” the commission said, quoting his lawyer, who visited three detainees and heard their testimonies about the conditions they endure.

The lawyer quoted Hareesh as describing mass raids on prison cells, assaults on detainees, and handcuffing them for hours.

She also relayed the testimony of detainee Najy Sharif Awadallah, 24, from Beitunia, who said conditions are “extremely harsh, with continuous beatings, daily searches and raids, scarce food, a lack of hygiene, and sleep deprivation by removing the mattresses at six in the morning.”

Another detainee, Ezz al-Din Khaddour, 20, from the town of Biddu northwest of Jerusalem, said he suffers from a foot injury for which he was receiving treatment before his arrest, but has not received any medical care for 70 days despite needing medication and follow-up, according to the statement.

The commission added that these testimonies “reflect the deteriorating humanitarian situation inside Ofer camp, amid repeated calls by rights groups for urgent intervention and an end to the ongoing violations against detainees.

The Israeli army has detained more than 20,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.