Palestinian prisoner Moataz Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Abu Zneid, 35, passed away in Rimon Prison on Monday, after his health deteriorated due to “deliberate medical negligence.” This comes amid a number of violations that Palestinian inmates have experienced inside Israeli occupation prisons.
Abu Zneid was placed under administrative detention on June 27, 2023, without being charged. The Israeli occupation employs this extraordinary detention technique to hold Palestinians without trial or evidence, which is a flagrant violation of international justice standards.
Human rights reports revealed that the inmate’s health abruptly worsened while he was being held at Rimon Prison, despite the fact that he had no health issues prior to his arrest. He was moved to Soroka Hospital on January 6 after the prison administration postponed his transfer to the hospital. There, he remained unconscious until his passing was declared.
This incident demonstrates the persistence of what is known as the “slow killing policy” in Israeli prisons, where Palestinian inmates are subjected to systematic medical neglect. This occurs when the prison administration purposefully delays sending sick inmates for treatment and fails to provide essential medical care, causing their health to deteriorate and, frequently, to result in their death.
With Abu Zneid’s passing, there have been five administrative detainees died inside Israeli prisons since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, bringing the total number of known prisoner movement deaths since 1967 to roughly 292 inmates.
According to statistics, there are roughly 10,400 Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails who are subjected to harsh living conditions that are against international law, including being denied access to fundamental rights like medical care, family visits, and a fair trial.
Local and international human rights organisations have denounced the practice of holding hundreds of administrative detainees for extended periods of time without charge or trial.
Moataz Abu Zneid is a fresh warning about the conditions of Palestinian inmates, who are currently facing some of the worst human rights abuses in the world. While the number of victims inside the occupation prisons is increasing, international silence remains a source of frustration for Palestinians who call for urgent action to end their suffering and guarantee their human rights.
It is noteworthy that the death of Abu Zneid comes in the context of a comprehensive escalation at all levels. Since the beginning of the genocide in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the occupation forces have intensified their military operations and arrests in the West Bank, where the number of Palestinian detainees has exceeded 14,000, including women and children.
At the same time, the West Bank has witnessed an escalation in attacks by settlers supported by the Israeli army, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries among Palestinians, in addition to widespread destruction of infrastructure, and an escalation in arrest and detention policies.
