Walid Ahmad had been detained for half a year, without being formally charged with any crime, when he collapsed under unclear circumstances and hit his head. He died shortly thereafter.
The teenager was arrested in September, according to his family, after being accused of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. His father describes him as a healthy teenager who liked playing football, but who rapidly became weaker and sicker during his time in prison.
Israel confirms Ahmad's death, but claims that his medical condition is subject to secrecy.
Human rights groups have for years been warning about widespread abuses and substandard conditions in Israeli prisons and detention centers. Thousands of Palestinians are being held in such facilities, many of them arbitrarily arrested after Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023. Former prisoners have told of being mistreated in overcrowded facilities with no access to care. There are also said to be substandard sanitary conditions with regular outbreaks of disease.
Israeli authorities have dismissed the allegations of abuse. However, the department responsible for the prisons has admitted that the standard in the facilities has been reduced to the lowest level allowed by Israeli law.
According to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which leads the limited Palestinian self-government on the occupied West Bank, over 60 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank or Gaza Strip have died in Israeli prisons since the outbreak of war in 2023.
