By Palestine Chronicle Staff 
The death of a 22-year-old Palestinian detainee brings to eleven the total number of prisoners who have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.
A 22-year-old Palestinian has died while in detention, bringing the total number of detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since October 7 to eleven, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.
The Palestinian Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs said that Assef Al-Rifai, originally from the village of Kafr Ain, northwest of Ramallah, was detained in 2022 and diagnosed with cancer.
Al-Rifai was transferred from Ramla Prison to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.
A total of 248 Palestinian prisoners have reportedly died in Israeli jails since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.
Palestinians have accused Israel of a policy of starvation and medical negligence against detainees as part of punitive measures against Palestinians following the October 7 military operation.
Detention and Torture
Last month, an Israeli court heard that a Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank was found dead in his prison cell a few days after having been beaten by prison guards.
In a press statement, the Commission said, “all the evidence and testimony” related to the sudden death of Abdul-Rahman Marei “conclusively prove that he was tortured by the Israeli prison guards on November 7.” This subsequently led to his death on November 13.
The Commission explained that an Israeli government representative recounted that Marei, from the town of Salfit, “was severely beaten and assaulted by a large group of jailers after he quarreled with one of them,” the WAFA news agency reported.
Since October 7, at least 411 Palestinians have been killed, over 4,600 injured, and 7,120 others detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
(PC, WAFA, Anadolu)
