Bethlehem/PNN/ 

The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have condemned the Israeli authorities for committing a heinous crime against 17-year-old Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmed, who died in Israeli custody at the Megiddo prison. According to the results of an autopsy, starvation was identified as the primary cause of his severe symptoms, which ultimately led to his death.

Both organizations stated that Walid was medically examined in December 2024 and February 2025 after suffering from scabies, a contagious skin disease. Following complaints of insufficient food, he was examined again but remained underfed. On March 22, 2025, Walid lost consciousness and was finally transferred to the prison clinic, where attempts to revive him failed, and he was declared dead.

The autopsy report revealed severe internal damage, including swollen and air-filled tissues around his heart, neck, chest wall, abdomen, and intestines, as well as muscle and fat atrophy in the upper body and limbs. It also indicated skin rashes consistent with his scabies infection, particularly on his lower limbs.

The report further confirms that the conditions of deprivation, including dehydration from insufficient water intake and severe weight loss caused by untreated gastrointestinal issues, contributed to his death.  

The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society stated that Walid's death was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of medical abuse within Israeli prisons, including deliberate starvation, lack of necessary medical treatment, and the systematic torture of prisoners. They emphasized that hundreds of Palestinian children, like Walid, continue to endure these cruel conditions while detained by Israeli authorities.

Walid Ahmed, from the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, had been detained on September 30, 2024, and was still under detention at the time of his death. He became the 63rd Palestinian to die in Israeli detention since the beginning of the ongoing genocide in October 2023.

Since 1967, approximately 300 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli detention under similar conditions, and there are still dozens of bodies held in Israeli custody, including 61 since the beginning of the current escalation.