Martyrdom of Detainee Mohammad Walid Hussein from Nur Shams Refugee Camp a Week After His Arrest and Transfer for Interrogation

Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – December 4, 2024

Ramallah - The General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club of the martyrdom of detainee Mohammad Walid Ali Hussein (45 years old) from Nur Shams Refugee Camp. He was arrested on November 28, 2024, and, according to his family, did not suffer from any chronic health issues. Mohammad was married, a father to one daughter, and expecting his second child.

In a joint statement, the Commission and the Club explained that Mohammad Hussein, a former prisoner who spent nearly 20 years in Israeli prisons and was released three years ago, was rearrested a week ago and transferred to the Jalama Interrogation Center. Reports indicate he was transferred this morning to Rambam Hospital, where he died. The details surrounding his death remain unclear, but his martyrdom just a week after his arrest and transfer for interrogation strongly suggests he was subjected to torture—a systematic policy used against detainees during the initial stages of their detention.

The 48th Prisoner Martyr Since the Start of the War of Extermination

The Commission and the Club noted that Mohammad Hussein is the 48th prisoner martyr to be declared since the beginning of the war of extermination. This count includes only those whose information has been verified and announced by relevant institutions. Dozens of detainees from Gaza are believed to have died in prisons and camps, with Israel withholding their identities and details of their deaths. Mohammad Hussein’s death is yet another addition to the occupation’s extensive record of crimes spanning decades.

Systematic Torture and Prison Conditions

The joint statement emphasized that the severe and catastrophic conditions faced by detainees in Israeli prisons—coupled with the harrowing testimonies of released prisoners—indicate that more detainees are at risk of dying, particularly the sick, injured, and elderly.

• The number of ill detainees is rapidly increasing due to systematic policies, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, and deprivation at all levels.
• The horrific conditions, compounded by outbreaks of diseases and starvation, have turned previously healthy detainees into patients.

Rising Mortality Rates Among Prisoners

The Commission and the Club reported that since 1967, the total number of prisoner martyrs with confirmed identities has risen to 285. This includes prisoners executed or whose identities and circumstances of death remain concealed by Israel. Among the martyrs since the war began, 48 have been identified, including 29 detainees from Gaza.

International Accountability

The statement called on international human rights organizations to:

1. Take decisive actions to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their ongoing war crimes.
2. Impose sanctions on Israel to isolate it internationally.
3. Restore the core role of the human rights system by ending the exceptional immunity granted to Israel by colonial powers.

Current Statistics on Palestinian Prisoners

• Total prisoners: Over 10,300 as of early December 2024.
• Women prisoners: 89, including 27 administrative detainees.
• Children: At least 280.
• Administrative detainees: 3,428, including 27 women and 100 children.
• The Israeli prison system also continues to enforce forced disappearances on hundreds of detainees from Gaza held in military camps.

The Commission and the Club hold the occupation fully responsible for Mohammad Hussein’s death, underscoring that this is part of Israel’s historical pattern of war crimes against the Palestinian people.