Wed Apr 02 05:25:01 UTC 2025: ## Palestinian Teen Dies in Israeli Prison, Sparking Outrage
**Jerusalem, April 2, 2025** – A 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, Walid Ahmad, died in an Israeli prison after collapsing under unclear circumstances, marking the first death of a Palestinian under 18 in Israeli custody, according to Palestinian officials. Ahmad, arrested six months prior for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers, had been held without charge.
His family and Palestinian rights groups allege that poor conditions and inadequate medical care at Megiddo Prison, a facility with a history of abuse allegations, contributed to his death. They claim Ahmad contracted amoebic dysentery due to unsanitary conditions and overcrowding, exacerbated by the prison’s reported failure to provide adequate treatment during Ramadan. Witnesses reported seeing Ahmad collapse and hit his head, with prison authorities allegedly failing to provide timely medical assistance.
The Israeli prison service confirmed the death but offered no details regarding the cause, citing medical confidentiality. While denying systematic abuse, the ministry overseeing prisons acknowledged that conditions in detention facilities have been reduced to the minimum legal standard. This policy, championed by ultranationalist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, aims to deter attacks, according to the National Security Ministry.
Thousands of Palestinians have been detained since the October 2023 Hamas attack, many held without charge under administrative detention. Former detainees describe widespread abuse, including beatings, overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and outbreaks of disease. Ahmad’s lawyer reported being denied access to his client and cited accounts from fellow prisoners corroborating the family’s claims.
The Palestinian Authority is demanding an autopsy to determine the cause of death and has condemned the conditions in Israeli prisons. They state that Ahmad is the 63rd Palestinian from the West Bank or Gaza to die in Israeli custody since the start of the war, and that Israel is withholding the bodies of 72 Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails. The incident has sparked outrage and renewed calls for investigations into the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention facilities.
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