PA blames Israel after ex-inmate dies from kidney failure
Palestinian prisoners’ committee says death result of ‘medical negligence’ while in custody; Israel says proof needed to support claim
A Palestinian man who was previously imprisoned in Israel died on Tuesday in what a top Palestinian official said was the result of “medical negligence” while in Israeli custody.
Mazen Muhammad al-Mughrabi, a 45-year-old resident of the northern West Bank village of Abwein, died from kidney failure as a result of health issues contracted while imprisoned in Israel before his release two years ago, Issa Qaraqe told the Palestinian Ma’an news agency.
Qaraqe heads the Palestinian Authority’s Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs.
Israel Prisons Service spokesman Assaf Librati cast doubt on the report, telling The Times of Israel that “we would be happy to get proof that supports this claim.”
Although earlier reports said that Mughrabi died while fasting in solidarity with Palestinian security prisoners on a mass hunger strike in Israeli prisons, Qarage told Ma’an that Mughrabi was not himself on a hunger strike but had visited a protest tent in Ramallah supporting the prisoners.
Palestinian officials say some 1,500 prisoners are participating in the hunger strike that began on April 17, with detainees ingesting only water and salt. Librati said on Monday that 870 prisoners are still refusing to eat.
Librati did not elaborate on why over 400 prisoners had quit the strike. He said the strikers are held in separate wings, monitored by medical staff. He said several are held in isolation.
Support for the strike has gained momentum, with West Bank marches and a social media campaign showing celebrities in the Arab world drinking salty water in solidarity.
The hunger-strikers, led by convicted terrorist and popular Palestinian figure Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life terms for his role in deadly attacks, have become a cause celebre, with near daily demonstrations in support of them.
On Monday, police dispersed a protest expressing support for the hunger strikers at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, while Ma’an reported that on Sunday night clashes erupted near Nablus as Israeli troops broke up a sit-in in solidarity with the strikers.
Some 6,500 Palestinians are currently detained by Israel for a range of terror offenses and crimes. Around 500 are being held under Israel’s system of administrative detention, which allows for imprisonment without charge.
Palestinian prisoners have mounted repeated hunger strikes, but rarely on such a scale.
Among the demands made by Barghouti and fellow prisoners are the resumption of a second monthly visit by family members (a benefit that was canceled by the International Committee of the Red Cross last year due to budget cuts), the prevention of family meetings being canceled for security reasons, extending the length of each visit from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and the restoration of academic studies and matriculation exams for prisoners. Other demands include more television channels being available in cells and the installation of public telephones in security wings.
Barghouti is popular among Palestinians, with polls suggesting he could win the Palestinian presidency. Many Israeli and Palestinian analysts have speculated that Barghouti organized the strike in a bid to boost his declining power in Palestinian politics.
Agencies contributed to this report.