Over 200 Palestinians martyred in Israeli custody

RAMALLAH, Palestine

A total of 222 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli custody since 1967, a year when first Palestinian was martyred under custody, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).

Sami Abu Dyak, a cancer patient who was in jail for the last 17 years, was the latest victim pronounced dead on Nov. 26.

Abu Dyak, 37, from Silat ad-Dhahr in the West Bank's Jenin province, was arrested in July 2002 and sentenced to three life sentences with an additional 30 years. He was accused of carrying out “armed operations against the Israeli army”.

The martyr had been suffering from abdominal cancer for the past four years. He was not able to sleep or eat normally due to severe pain. He could only move in a wheelchair and needed special care.

In 2019, five Palestinian prisoners died including Sami Abu Dyak, Faris Baroud, Omar Awni Younis, Nassar Taqatqa and Bassam al-Sayeh, according to the PPS.

Faris Baroud

Faris Baroud, 51, from Gaza City’s Al-Shati refugee camp, suddenly died on Feb. 6 after he was transferred from an Israeli detention facility to a hospital.

Baroud suffered from medical negligence during his detention as he was suffering from several health issues -- including asthma and stomach problems.

He was arrested in 1991 and sentenced for life for his alleged involvement in the death of an Israeli settler.

Omar Younis

Omar Awni Younis, 20, from Sanniriya town in the West Bank's province of Qalqilya, was martyred at a hospital on April 27, as he succumbed to his wounds inflicted by the Israeli army.

He was injured in the same month while allegedly trying to carry out a stabbing operation near Nablus city.

Nassar Taqatqa

On July 16, the PPS said 31-year-old Nassar Taqatqa died due to torture by Israeli forces.

Taqatqa was arrested on June 19, 2019, after Israeli special forces stormed his house in Beit Fujjar town in Bethlehem province and was transferred to the Maskubiyya Investigation Center in Jerusalem and later to the Jalameh Investigation Center near Jenin.

According to his family, Taqatqa did not suffer any medical or health problems when he was arrested.

The PPS quoted other Palestinian detainees as saying that Taqatqa was beaten and tied to a bed at Megiddo prison in northern Israel.

He was then taken to Ramleh Hospital in central Israel, where he was pronounced dead.

Bassam al-Sayeh

Bassam Al-Sayeh, 47, suffered from bone and blood cancer and other acute health problems. He died at Assaf Harofeh Israeli hospital in September.

The Israeli army arrested al-Sayeh on Oct. 8, 2015, while he was attending a trial of his wife, who was then detained and charged with "involvement in the killing of an Israeli officer and his wife."

According to the PPS, a total of 222 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli custody since 1967.

This includes 73 detainees martyred due to torture in Israeli prisons, 67 martyred as a result of deliberate medical negligence, 75 as a result of intentional murder after their arrests and seven others as a result of direct shooting under custody.

According to Palestinian figures, roughly 5,700 Palestinians -- including 200 children and 40 women -- are languishing in Israeli detention facilities.

* Mahmoud Barakat, Ali Murat Alhas from Ankara contributed to this story