Bethlehem / PNN /

The Washington Post reported on Monday that violence is widely used against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

The newspaper reported in an article that One Palestinian inmate died with a ruptured spleen and broken ribs after being beaten by Israeli prison guards. Another met an excruciating end because a chronic condition went untreated and a third screamed for help for hours before dying.

The Washington Post said that the three men are among at least 13 Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel to die in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023.

“Violence is pervasive,” said Jessica Montell, executive director of the Israeli rights group HaMoked, which has worked for years with Palestinian inmates. “It’s very overcrowded. Every prisoner that we’ve met with has lost 30 pounds.”

A 28-year-old former prisoner said guards beat them “like crazy people,” kicking and beating them with batons.

Ibrahim, the brother of Abdul Rahman al-Maari, 33, who died in Megiddo Prison in November, said his brother was detained at a temporary checkpoint in February 2023.

Ibrahim said he lost contact with his brother after October 7, 2023.

An autopsy report examined by Dr. Danny Rosen of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel stated that al-Maari’s ribs were broken, and that there were deformities in his back, hip, left arm, head and neck.

Khairy Hamad, 32, who was held in the same section, said al-Maari was thrown down the stairs while handcuffed and bleeding from his head, on the grounds that he had spoken back to guards during a cell search.

He said al-Maari was left for hours in pain and crying for help until he died.