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Photo:
Anwar Shaaban Mohammad Esleem, 44, from Gaza and Sameeh Suleiman Mohammad Oleiwi, 61, from Nablus. Published by IMEMC News

Ketziot Prison, in 2019. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitch. Published by Haaretz
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by IMEMC News
Nov 15, 2024

The General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society on Friday about the deaths of two Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The detainees have been identified as Sameeh Suleiman Mohammad Oleiwi, 61, from Nablus, and Anwar Shaaban Mohammad Esleem, 44, from Gaza.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Prisoners’ Club stated that Oleiwi died on November 6, 2024, six days after being transferred from the Ramla Prison Clinic to Assaf Harofeh Israeli Hospital.

He had been held in the Negev desert detention camp before being moved to Ramla. The Israeli Prison Authority did not announce his death despite being obligated to do so. Esleem died on November 14, 2024, during his transfer from the Negev prison to Soroka Hospital after his health deteriorated.

The Commission and the PPS explained that Oleiwi had been held under an arbitrary Administrative Detention order, without charges or trial, since October 21, 2023.

During a visit by a lawyer from the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission on August 21, 2024, Oleiwi mentioned that he had several health issues before his arrest due to a benign tumor in his intestines. Esleem, from Gaza, had been detained since December 18, 2023, and his family reported that he had no health problems before his arrest.

During the August visit, Oleiwi told the lawyer that he had been suffering from severe health issues before his arrest and had undergone several surgeries, including the removal of part of his intestines due to the tumor.

He was supposed to have another surgery in December 2023, but it was not performed due to his arrest, worsening his condition.

Oleiwi also reported being subjected to mistreatment and repeated assaults, especially during his transfer to the clinic.

Despite his illness, he was taken to the clinic in restraints and mistreated. He lost over 40 kilograms and could not eat the food provided. He received no treatment since his abduction, despite interventions from human rights organizations.

Oleiwi had previously spent about ten years in Israeli prisons since his first abduction in 1988. He was married and had nine children. Esleem was also married and had four children.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Prisoners’ Society confirmed that Oleiwi and Esleem were subjected to systematic mistreatment, like other political prisoners, through slow death and elimination policies practiced by the prison system over decades.

These policies include torture, medical neglect, and starvation, which have led to the deaths of dozens of prisoners since the start of the genocide.

After more than 400 days of genocide against the people of Gaza, the crimes against prisoners are escalating.

Many sick prisoners who endured the occupation’s measures at the beginning of the war can no longer do so, and their health is deteriorating.

Many healthy prisoners have become ill, as observed through visits, court appearances, and testimonies from released prisoners. The crimes against prisoners are a form of genocide.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Prisoners’ Society previously reported a health crisis in the Negev prison due to the spread of scabies, affecting hundreds of prisoners. This disease has also spread in other central prisons, where it has been used as a tool of torture and mistreatment.

The Commission and the Society warned that the ongoing catastrophic conditions faced by prisoners, especially the sick and wounded, will likely lead to more deaths.

The institutions can no longer keep track of the number of sick prisoners due to the spread of diseases and the detention of more wounded individuals.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society held the occupation fully responsible for the deaths of Oleiwi and Esleem, adding these crimes to the ongoing and unprecedented record of the occupation since the start of the genocide, which has been the bloodiest period in the history of the Palestinian people. The number of political prisoners who have died since October 7 has risen to 43, with their identities confirmed by relevant institutions.
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Hamas Prisoner Dies After Months Without Proper Medical Care in Israeli Prison

Physicians for Human Rights claims neglect by Israel Prison Service led to the death of 61-year-old administrative detainee Samih Aliwi, who was denied adequate medical attention despite severe health issues

by Hagar Shezaf and Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Nov 21, 2024

A Hamas prisoner, 61-year-old Samih Aliwi, who was in prison without trial at Ketziot Prison in Israel's south, died at the beginning of November after prison authorities failed to hospitalize him for months despite his deteriorating condition.

Physicians for Human Rights wrote to the Israel Prison Service in May, stating that Aliwi hadn't been referred for a medical examination and surgery "despite his complaining about severe pains" and swelling in his abdomen. He was only hospitalized in September, at which point his weight had dropped to about 40 kilos (88 pounds).


Aliwi, who was from the West Bank city of Nablus and had served time in Israeli prison in the past, was placed in administrative detention in November of last year. He was described in the Palestinian media and by the Shin Bet as a leader of Hamas in Nablus. Because he was in detention without trial, the authorities did not disclose the suspicions against him.

In its response to Physicians for Human Rights' letter in May, the prison service said Aliwi underwent a medical examination about three days after receiving the organization's letter and at that time, a doctor concluded that there was no further need for diagnosis or treatment.

In August, a lawyer for Physicians for Human Rights, Samer Simaan, visited Aliwi, after which the group sent another letter to the prison service warning of the prisoner's deteriorating condition and claiming that he wasn't getting sufficient medical treatment. The prison service replied that Aliwi was examined again and that roughly two weeks after the second letter, the prisoner was hospitalized but was returned to the medical clinic at the prison the following day. About a week later, his condition again deteriorated, and he was hospitalized again before being returned to the prison clinic several days later.

Aliwi was hospitalized one last time at Shamir Medical Center at Tzrifin, where he died about a week later.

Physicians for Human Rights said the prisoner's death "demonstrated the genuine danger to which the lives of Palestinians held in incarceration facilities in Israel are exposed." Naji Abbas, who heads the incarceration department at the organization, alleged that the prison service and the Israeli army deprive prisoners of medical care as a form of punishment. A statement by the group also claimed that a day before Aliwi died, a court had denied his request to be released.

In its response to this article, the Israel Prison Service said that it operates in accordance with the law "under the meticulous supervision of a large number of [officials] with official oversight. All of the prisoners are held in accordance with the law with adherence to their basic rights and are overseen by professional and skilled staff," it said. "To the extent that any allegations or complaints are made against it, they should be examined by the appropriate authorities."

Since the beginning of the war on October 7 of last year, at least 13 Palestinians have died at Israel Prison Service facilities. Another 46 Palestinians have died in Israeli army detention facilities.

A report released in August by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem alleged that some of the deaths raise grave suspicions that the prisoners were abused or deliberately deprived of medical care. The report, which was based on testimony from dozens of Palestinian detainees since the beginning of the war, described allegations of "systematic" torture, violence, sexual abuse, humiliation and the deprivation of food and appropriate medical treatment.

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