Israeli police attack mourners
Israeli police have attacked a tent set up for mourners to pay their respects to the family of the Palestinian detainee who died while incarcerated. The attack took place in Daqqa’s hometown, Baqa al-Gharbiyye, a predominantly Palestinian city in northern Israel near the border with the occupied West Bank.
Daqqah had been imprisoned since 1986. He had terminal cancer, but Israeli authorities refused to release him.
Israeli cops attack the mourning tent set up for Walid Daqqah, who died in Israeli jail yesterday.
Daqqah had been imprisoned since '84. Amnesty Intl called for his release last year.
Note this is not in the West Bank, Gaza or Jerusalem. These are Palestinian citizens of Israel. https://t.co/1ShKr91e1v
— Mohammad Alsaafin (@malsaafin) April 8, 2024
Death of Palestinian detainee ‘cruel reminder of Israel’s systematic medical neglect’
Amnesty International says the death in custody of Walid Daqqah, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who had terminal cancer, is a “cruel reminder of Israel’s disregard for Palestinians’ right to life”.
The 62-year-old Palestinian writer was the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails after being imprisoned for 38 years. He died in Israeli custody despite calls for his urgent release on humanitarian grounds following his 2022 diagnosis with bone marrow cancer and the fact that he had already completed his original sentence.
Israeli authorities continue to hold his body.
“Sanaa Salameh, Daqqah’s wife, could not embrace her dying husband one last time before he passed. Israeli authorities must now return [his] body to his family without delay so they could give him a peaceful and dignified burial and allow them to mourn his death without intimidation,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns.
The death in custody of Walid Daqqa, a 62-year-old Palestinian writer who was the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails after 38 years of imprisonment, is a cruel reminder of Israel’s disregard for Palestinians’ right to life ⬇️https://t.co/hSz0gdZgVj
— Amnesty International (@amnesty) April 8, 2024
Prisoners group says Israel holding bodies of 26 Palestinian detainees
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of 26 Palestinian detainees. The NGO said the figure includes the body of novelist and activist Walid Daqqah, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who had terminal cancer and who died in Israeli custody on Sunday.
“No decision” has been made about the fate of Daqqah’s body so far, the group said in a statement.
Israel routinely withholds the bodies of Palestinians, which human rights groups say amounts to collective punishment of bereaved families. International law considers the practice a violation of human rights.
