Palestinian prisoner dies while exercising in Israeli jail
Death of Yassir Hamduni, serving a life sentence for murdering an Israeli in 2003, attributed to coronary or stroke
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
A Palestinian prisoner died Sunday in an Israeli military prison while exercising.
Yassir Ziad Hamduni was serving a life sentence for the murder of Israeli Avner Maimon in 2003, during the Second Intifada. During his morning workout session in Damon Prison, he apparently suffered a heart attack or a stroke. Medical personnel who were called to the scene were unable to revive him.
Hamduni, of the northern West Bank town of Ya’bad, was arrested along with two others and found guilty of shooting Maimon, 51, and killing him while he was visiting the town. Ya’bad is part of the Jenin Governorate and is under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility at the time.
Maimon reportedly visited the Palestinian towns often to do business, although he had grown more cautious after Israeli security authorities warned him of the potential danger.
Hamduni was 28 when he carried out the attack, making him 41 at the time of his death.
Palestinian prisoners have announced a three-day hunger strike in the wake of Hamduni’s death, the Ynet news site reported.
Damon Prison, near the Rimon Junction in the Carmel Forest of northern Israel, was opened in 1953. It was closed in 2000 but reopened in 2001 due to the security situation.
The last Palestinian to die in an Israeli jail was Raed Abdel Salam al-Jaabari, who committed suicide in Eshel Prison in 2014.
The Times of Israel Community.