Indications Palestinian man who died in Israeli prison was tortured
An autopsy on a Palestinian man held by Israel and who died in prison in December indicates he suffered torture, according to officials.
The Associated Press news agency, citing reports by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, said Mohammad al-Aref, 45, suffered intracranial bleeding, a wound that can result from a serious head injury.
The autopsy found that al-Aref suffered lacerations that indicate “physical assault and excessive use of restraints”. The victim also had blood clots on the left side of his head, limbs, chest and abdomen, according to the commission.
Al-Aref, from the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, spent 20 years in Israeli prison on charges related to national security and was released in 2021.
He was arrested again in November 2024. Less than a week later, on December 4, he was transferred to a hospital in northern Israel and pronounced dead.
Hamas released a statement after al-Aref’s death, denouncing his killing and claiming him as a member.
Red Crescent rejects Israeli offer to take over UNRWA work in occupied territory
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has denied claims repeated in Israeli media that it will take over some operations from the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA), which Israel has plans to ban.
In a statement shared by local media on the Telegram platform, the PRCS reaffirmed its “steadfast refusal” to serve as an alternative to the UNRWA agency “despite several parties contacting the association to carry out some of the agency’s tasks or to receive funds that were intended for it”.
The PRCS said it was most recently approached by the Israeli Ministry of Health about taking over responsibility for the Bab al-Zawiya clinic, a facility operated by UNWRA in occupied East Jerusalem, in return for additional financial support.
The PRCS said it had “categorically rejected” the Israeli ministry’s suggestion.
A Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance is blocked by an Israeli military vehicle during an Israeli raid in Tubas, in the occupied West Bank, in March 2024
Documentary film about life in occupied West Bank gets Oscar nomination
“No Other Land”, a 2024 documentary film that exposes the brutal reality of daily life for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Oscars despite having no distribution deal in the United States.
Set in the town of Masafer Yatta, the film focuses on the relationship between a Palestinian trying to document the loss of his homeland and a Jewish Israeli journalist he works with to document Israeli settler violence.
The film marks the directorial debut of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, four activists and members of a Palestinian-Israeli collective.
Adra’s home was raided by the Israeli military twice during production where they seized computers and cameras.
The film has already won several awards, including the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, where Adra and Abraham caused controversy when they used their winners’ speech to condemn the ongoing occupation of Palestine.
Congratulations to our friends @basel_adra, @yuval_abraham, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor on their nomination for Best Documentary! "No Other Land" provides a vital glimpse into the daily lives of Palestinians under constant threat of ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta#Oscars pic.twitter.com/S7xLy3Pli4
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) January 23, 2025
