Israel refuses to hand over the body of jailed Palestinian teenager who endured malnutrition

Israel has declined to return the remains of a Palestinian teenager, who passed away at a prison facility in the Israeli-occupied territories earlier this year due to severe malnutrition, even though the body is no longer required for the investigation into his death.

According to the official autopsy report in the case of 17-year-old Waleed Ahmad, a resident of the Palestinian village of Silwad in the West Bank who died at Megiddo Prison in March, he was experiencing severe malnutrition, scabies, and an intestinal infection that had progressed.

Several inmates at the prison were suffering from an intestinal illness during that time, resulting in their becoming underweight.

At the time of his death, Ahmad had spent around six months in detention and was charged with the act of throwing a Molotov cocktail.

“It’s been five months and seven days since his death and they’re still holding his body,” the teen’s father, Khaled, said on Saturday.

Waleed was a Brazilian citizen. His father stated that the Brazilian authorities have been trying to exert pressure on the Israeli regime to release the body. The inquiry into his death has been in progress since he passed away in March.

A source familiar with the investigation said that there is no longer a requirement to retain Ahmad’s body as part of the inquiry; however, officials have been in disagreement regarding whose authority it is to sanction its release.

In response to calls for the release of Ahmad’s body, the Israel police said in a statement that “the case is still under investigation” and refused to provide details.

Palestinian prisoner succumbs to injuries from Israeli army gunfire in West Bank

A young Palestinian prisoner has succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli army gunfire during a raid in the occupied West Bank.

The autopsy on Ahmad’s body was carried out at the so-called National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv shortly following his death.

The autopsy report indicates that the exact cause of his death remains undetermined; however, it is probable that an infection originating in his intestines contributed to the failure of his bodily functions and subsequent collapse.

The report stated that he had lost fat tissue and that his body mass index aligns with the definition of “sickly underweight.” It was additionally observed that he experienced significant weight loss in the months leading up to his death, which could plausibly result in the failure of his immune system.

The conditions under which Palestinian inmates are held by Israel are deplorable, with insufficient hygienic standards. Additionally, Palestinian abductees have faced ongoing torture, harassment, and repression.

Palestinian abductees have persistently engaged in open-ended hunger strikes to convey their anger regarding their unlawful detention.

Human rights organizations assert that Israel persists in infringing upon all rights and freedoms afforded to abductees under the Fourth Geneva Convention and international laws.

As reported by the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, approximately 60 percent of Palestinian abductees held in Israeli jails are afflicted with chronic illnesses, with several of them having died either during their detention or following their release as a result of the severity of their conditions.

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