On Tuesday morning, 20 December 2022, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs (CDA) announced the death of prisoner Nasser Mohammed Abu Hamid, 50, from Al-Amari Refugee Camp in Ramallah, at Assaf Harofeh Hospital in Israel due to a deterioration in his health condition while in custody at Al-Ramleh Prison.

Abu Hamid was first detained in 1990 and given a life sentence. He then served four years of his sentence before being released as part of an agreement between Palestinian and Israeli authorities. He was later apprehended once more in 2002 and sentenced to seven life sentences. Abu Hamid’s health began gradually deteriorating in August 2021, when he experienced chest pain. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He underwent a lumpectomy, but his condition deteriorated further after the operation due to medical negligence.

Al Mezan expresses its grave concern about the conditions and practices used against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, particularly medical negligence, which constitute a grave violation of Palestinian detainees’ rights guaranteed under international human rights and humanitarian law, particularly their right to health. Al Mezan holds Israel responsible for Abu Hamid’s death and calls for an international investigation to establish the circumstances of his death and as a prelude to prosecuting those responsible.

Notably, according to CDA figures, since 1967, the number of deaths among Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons has risen to 233. This adds to hundreds of ex-detainees who passed away from illnesses they contracted while being held in Israeli jails. Additionally, according to Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Organization, as of November 2022, there were 4,700 Palestinian political detainees in Israeli jails—including 34 women and around 150 minors. Of these, 835 are administrative detainees, including three women and four children. Al Mezan calls on the international community to hold its legal and moral obligations vis-à-vis the protected Palestinian people, especially the Palestinian detainees, and to pressure Israel to respect the international humanitarian and human rights law, particularly the international standards related to people deprived of their liberty.