Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails Wesam Abdul-Majid Shalaldeh, 28, was announced dead in mysterious circumstances on Friday, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS said Israeli prison authorities informed Shalaldeh’s family that he died in Ayalon prison, but did not inform them about the circumstances in which he died.
Shalaldeh, a father of four, has been in jail for three years and was serving a seven-year sentence.
He is the fourth Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli custody since the beginning of the year.
According to PPS, Shalaldeh is the fourth prisoner to die in Israeli custody since the beginning of 2018.
In February, Yasin Al-Saradih from Jericho died after being tortured and shot at short range after his arrest.
Aziz Awaisat was killed on 19 May after he was subjected to torture by the occupation forces while in an Israeli detention center. He suffered a stroke and was later declared dead.
While Muhammad Zaghloul Al-Khatib Al-Rimawi died in September after being beaten by Israeli occupation forces during a pre-dawn raid on his home in Beyt Reyma, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Some 218 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since 1967.
In a related development, Israel is allegedly set to announce a dramatic worsening of prison conditions for Palestinians, local media reported Thursday.
A committee launched by Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan will shortly present its conclusions which introduce a series of dramatic recommendations aimed at downgrading the conditions of Israel’s security prisoners, Israeli channel Hadashot TV reported.
According to the report, the committee intends to recommend that Israel drastically reduce family visits for security prisoners.
Israeli prisons would also put an end to the practice of separating prisoners based on terror group affiliations
Additional recommendations noted include limiting the available television channels, closing canteens in the prison ward, and security prisoners would no longer be allowed to cook meals in their wards or cells.The report noted that there could be dramatic repercussions from the proposed measures both inside of the security prisons as well as on the Palestinian streets.
The conditions of security prisoners in Israel has long been a concern and talking point for Palestinians and prisoners have launched numerous mass hunger strikes in recent years.
