RAMALLAH: On Saturday, a Palestinian prisoner died in Israel's Magiddo Prison, International Middle East Media Center Reports. According to Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees, 30-year-old Arafat Shahin Jaradat died as a result of undergoing torture and being detained in harsh conditions. From Sa'ir, a Hebron village in the occupied West Bank, Jaradat left behind his wife and two kids. Palestinian sources claim he was repeatedly tortured and interrogated, while Israeli sources say he suffered a heart attack and died. According to Facebook update by Addameer Prisoner Support Network, Jaradat “had been detained for three months at the time of his death, as well as subjected to 10 days of interrogation." PA Minister of Detainees Issa Qaraqe, on the other hand, stated that Jaradat has been arrested last week, but was not active in recent hunger strike activity. Shortly after news of the prisoner's death broke, protesters assembled in Ramallah's Al-Manara Square, witnesses told BikyaNews.com. PA police dispersed of the crowd, and dozens marched through the city's narrow corridors. Other demonstrations were reported at Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah. Prisoners in Israel's Nafta jail will launch a hunger strike in protest of Jaradat's death, which comes as tensions soar in the West Bank as a result of widespread outrage at the treatment of long term Palestinian hunger strikers. Large demonstrations swallowed cities, villages, and refugee camps across the territory during recent weeks, and several clashes between Israeli soldiers and demonstrators took place, namely at Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah. Solidarity tents have been set up in honor of Samer Al-Issawi, an administrative detainee who has gone over 213 days without food. Other long term hunger strikers include Tarek Qa'adan and Jazar Ezzed9ine, who have surpassed the 85 day mark, and Ayman Sharawna, whose precise start date is uncertain. Last Saturday, the European Union and Tony Blair called on Israel to respect the human rights of hunger strikers. As of January 1, there were 4,743 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. 193 were children, 23 of which were under 16-years-old. 12 were Palestinian Legislative Council members. 178 were administrative detainees, held on “secret evidence" with neither charge nor trial. Qaraqe holds the Israeli government responsible for Jaradat's death, reports Ma'an News Agency. BN
