A 22-year-old Palestinian prisoner has died after months of torture and deliberate medical neglect in an Israeli prison, becoming the latest victim of a system long accused of systematic abuse. Ahmad Hatem Khdeirat, from the southern West Bank town of Adh-Dhahiriya, had been detained without charge or trial since May 2024 under the policy of administrative detention, a measure that allows imprisonment based on undisclosed evidence. His death adds to the growing list of Palestinians who have perished in custody since the start of the genocidal war in Gaza.

Khdeirat’s health had deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. Suffering from diabetes and denied both medication and adequate nutrition, he reportedly lost a significant amount of weight and developed skin infections due to the appalling conditions inside the facility. Overcrowded cells, lack of hygiene, and constant psychological and physical abuse have been widely documented by rights groups, who hold Israeli authorities fully responsible for his death. His case is not an isolated tragedy but part of a wider pattern of deliberate neglect and cruelty inflicted upon detainees.

Since October 2023, dozens of Palestinians have died behind bars, while thousands more remain detained without charge. The practice of administrative detention continues to draw global condemnation for violating basic legal safeguards and human rights conventions. Yet for families like Khdeirat’s, accountability remains a distant hope. His death, like so many others, underscores the devastating human toll of a system built on domination and silence, where imprisonment often becomes a slow, invisible form of execution.