JERUSALEM — Officials report that a 17-year-old from the West Bank, held in an Israeli prison for half a year without charges, died after collapsing under circumstances that remain unclear. This marks the first instance of a Palestinian teenager dying in Israeli detention.
According to his family, Walid Ahmad was a healthy high school student before his arrest in September for allegedly throwing rocks at soldiers. Human rights organizations have documented the detention of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom were apprehended following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Prison authorities refute claims of systematic abuse, stating that they investigate all allegations of misconduct by prison staff. However, the Israeli ministry responsible for overseeing prisons has acknowledged that conditions within these facilities have been reduced to the minimum standards permissible under Israeli law.
The Israeli prison service did not provide answers regarding the cause of death, only stating that a 17-year-old from the West Bank died in Megiddo Prison, a facility previously accused of neglect. They added that “his medical condition being kept confidential,” and that all deaths in detention are investigated.
Khalid Ahmad, Walid’s father, described his son as a vibrant teen who enjoyed soccer before being taken from his home in the occupied West Bank during a pre-dawn raid.
Six months later, after several brief court appearances without a trial date being set, Walid collapsed in a prison yard on March 23 and hit his head, dying shortly after, according to Palestinian officials citing eyewitness accounts from other prisoners.
The family suspects that Walid contracted amoebic dysentery due to the poor conditions in the prison. This infection can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and dizziness, and can be fatal if left untreated.
Walid is reportedly the 63rd Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank or Gaza to die in Israeli custody since the start of the war, according to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank. Palestinian prisoner rights groups claim this represents approximately one-fifth of the roughly 300 Palestinians who have died in Israeli custody since the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Palestinians seek these territories for their future state.
The Palestinian Authority asserts that Israel is holding the bodies of 72 Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails, including 61 who have died since the war began.
Former detainees have reported harsh treatment since the start of the war, as told to The Associated Press. Their accounts included reports of beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical attention, scabies outbreaks, and unsanitary conditions.
Israel’s National Security Ministry, headed by ultranationalist Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and responsible for the prison service, has declared its policy of reducing conditions for Palestinian detainees “to the minimum required by law,” stating it is intended to deter attacks.
‘Don’t worry about me’
Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, alleging suspicions of militancy. Many have been held for months without charges or trial under administrative detention, which Israel defends as a necessary security measure. Others are arrested on suspicion of aggression toward soldiers but face continuous trial delays as the military and security services gather evidence.
Walid attended at least four court appearances via videoconference, according to his father, but each time the judge postponed the proceedings, eventually scheduling a trial date for April 21. His father stated that each session lasted approximately three minutes.
In a February session, four months after Walid’s detention, his father observed that his son appeared to be in poor health.
“His body was weakened due to malnutrition in the prisons in general,” the elder Ahmad said. He mentioned that Walid told him he had contracted scabies, a contagious skin rash caused by mites that causes intense itching, but had been treated.
“Don’t worry about me,” his father remembers him saying.
Khalid Ahmad later visited his son’s friend, a former soccer teammate who had been held with Walid in the same prison. The friend told him Walid had lost weight but that he was OK.
Four days later, the family received news of the death of a 17-year-old in the prison. An hour and a half later, they learned that it was Walid.
“We felt the same way as all the parents of the prisoners and all the families and mothers of the prisoners,” said Khalid Ahmad. “We can only say ’Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to him we shall return.’”
Cause of death is unknown
Walid’s lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, stated that Israeli authorities denied his requests to visit his client in prison. However, he says three prisoners held alongside Walid informed him that he was suffering from dysentery, which was reportedly widespread among young Palestinians held at the facility.
According to the lawyer, they said Walid experienced severe diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. They suspected the disease was spreading due to dirty water, as well as cheese and yogurt provided by prison guards in the morning that sat out all day while detainees were fasting for Ramadan.
Megiddo, located in northern Israel, “is the harshest prison for minors,” al-Jabrini stated. He reported being told that rooms intended for six prisoners often held 16, with some sleeping on the floor. Many complained of scabies and eczema.
Thaer Shriteh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority’s detainee commission, reported that Walid collapsed and hit his head on a metal rod, causing him to lose consciousness. “The prison administration did not respond to the prisoners’ requests for urgent care to save his life,” he said, citing witnesses who spoke to the commission.
Both the lawyer and the Palestinian official indicated that an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death. Israel has agreed to conduct one, but a date has not been scheduled.
“The danger in this matter is that the Israeli occupation authorities have not yet taken any action to stop this (disease) and have not provided any treatment in general to save the prisoners in Megiddo prison,” Shriteh said.
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