DaysofPal- The two Palestinian prisoners, Sameeh Eleiwi from Nablus and Anwar Esleem from Gaza, died in Israeli custody, according to a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society on Friday.
The deaths of the two prisoners have sparked new accusations of systematic abuse and medical negligence by Israeli authorities.
Aliwi, a Nablus-based Hamas leader, reportedly died on November 6, six days after being transferred from the Ayalon (Ramla) Prison Clinic to Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh).
Despite his prior medical conditions, Aliwi had been in administrative detention since October 21 of last year. According to testimony his attorney received, Aliwi had undergone multiple surgeries for a benign intestinal tumor and had a number of other health problems before his arrest.
Due to his detention, the 61-year-old Palestinian prisoner, who had been in Israeli jails for about ten years, was unable to have a planned medical procedure in December, which made his condition worse.
His lawyer reported that, like many prisoners, he endured torture and mistreatment, particularly during transfers to medical clinics, where guards would chain him and continue to abuse him despite his deteriorating health.
Aslim, a father of four from Gaza, had no health conditions prior to his arrest, according to his family. Both monitoring organizations held Israel “fully responsible for the death of the two prisoners, Aliwi and Aslim,” saying that they were victims of systematic abuse that has long been practiced in Israeli-run prisons, including torture, medical malpractice, and forced starvation.
The joint statement warns that crimes against detainees and prisoners have increased since Israel’s war on Gaza began, and it also says that many more deaths will result from the “catastrophic conditions” that prisoners, particularly the sick and injured, endure.
Over 11,400 people have been arrested since the war began, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, excluding those who are being held in Gaza, where the figure is thought to be in the thousands. During this time, more than 9,392 administrative detention orders—including those against women and children—have been issued, ranging from new orders to renewals.
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