Medical neglect also plagues Palestinian minors in Israel's Megiddo prison, says Commission of Detainees Affairs
Palestinian children detained in Israel's Megiddo prison endure brutal conditions, including beatings, starvation and a denial of medical care, the Commission of Detainees Affairs said Tuesday.
The government agency detailed ongoing abuses, citing retaliatory measures by prison authorities, intensified crackdowns, poor food quality and a lack of humanitarian provisions.
The commission highlighted the case of Jihad Maher Hajjaj, a 15-year-old boy from Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya in eastern Ramallah, who suffered severe chest pain and a suspected rib fracture after a prison guard beat him about a month ago.
“The blow was so hard it felt like my bone dislodged, and I've received no treatment or clarity on whether the fracture healed,” Hajjaj, detained since February 2024, told the commission's lawyer, according to the commission.
Aws Mohammed Taher Dheib, 19, from Silwad, also in eastern Ramallah, lost more than 66 pounds because of prison starvation policies since his detention on Sept. 30, 2024. He contracted scabies but received no medical care, said the commission.
Ali Dhiab, 18, from Kafr Aqab in the northern occupied Jerusalem, told the commission's lawyer that food is scarce and insufficient, forcing prisoners to skip meals and combine rations to eat once. “All prisoners have lost dozens of pounds,” Dhiab told the commission.
The Fatah movement urged international fact-finding missions on May 20 to investigate Israeli prisons for “attempts at physical liquidation” and unprecedented violations against Palestinian detainees.
Palestinian organizations, including the Commission of Detainees Affairs, the nongovernmental Al-Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Support, and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, appealed to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, urging “immediate international intervention” to address the escalating health crisis for prisoners.
Since Israel's military genocide in the Gaza Strip began in late 2023, at least 69 identified Palestinian detainees have died, with dozens more from Gaza whose identities remain concealed, the statement reported.
The deaths stem from systematic abuses documented in recent months, which the organizations described as part of a history of violations.
Also, at least 970 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The International Court of Justice declared last July that Israel's longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
