Two Palestinian prisoner rights groups have announced the death of Khaled Mahmoud Qasim Abdullah, a 41-year-old administrative detainee from Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, who died in Israel’s Megiddo prison on 23 February. The groups, the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), stated that Abdullah’s death was a result of systematic torture and mistreatment by Israeli jailers.

Abdullah, a father of four, had been held under administrative detention without charge or trial since 9 November 2024. The groups condemned his death as another crime in the record of the Israeli prison system, accusing Israeli authorities of deliberately concealing the circumstances of detainees’ deaths and subjecting prisoners to inhumane conditions, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, sexual violence, and overcrowded cells that foster severe and contagious diseases.

The rights organizations emphasized that such abuses are part of a broader genocidal strategy aimed at systematically eliminating Palestinians. They held the Israeli regime fully responsible for Abdullah’s death and called on international human rights organizations to take decisive action to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes.

The groups also urged the imposition of sanctions on Israel to isolate it internationally and restore the role of international human rights law, which they argue has been severely undermined during Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. They criticized the exceptional immunity granted to Israel by colonial powers, which has allowed it to evade accountability for its actions.

Last week, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called for an international investigation into Israeli crimes against Palestinian detainees. The ministry expressed deep concern over the rising number of Palestinian prisoners, particularly from Gaza, who have died in Israeli custody. It urged humanitarian and human rights organizations to intervene swiftly to protect Palestinian detainees and pressure Israeli authorities to uphold their responsibilities under international law.

The ministry also stressed the need for the United Nations Commission of Inquiry to fully investigate these extrajudicial killings, which it said violate the Geneva Conventions. Abdullah’s death highlights the ongoing plight of Palestinian prisoners and the urgent need for international action to address systemic abuses in Israeli detention facilities.