Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody as family seeks answers

Submitted by Fayha Shalash on Thu, 09/17/2026 - 14:33 Moataz al-Atrash, 21, dies after nearly a year in administrative detention as rights groups report a surge in deaths in Israeli prisons

Moataz Nizam al-Atrash, 21, suffered no health conditions before his arrest, raising questions over the conditions of his detention (X) Off

A 21-year-old Palestinian prisoner has died in Israeli custody, with his family saying they were given no explanation beyond being told that he had died in prison.

Moataz Nizam al-Atrash, from Hebron, died at Ofer Prison, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Wednesday.

He had spent nearly a year in administrative detention without charge or trial, based on what Israeli authorities call a “secret file”.

Legal records indicate that al-Atrash had no known health conditions before his arrest.

His death has raised questions over the conditions of his detention and what caused his sudden deterioration.

His brother, Basil al-Atrash, said the family remained in shock.

He said the last visit from a lawyer came two months ago and lasted just five minutes.

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During the visit, Moataz told the lawyer he was well, sent his greetings to the family and showed no signs of illness.

A prisoner released two days before his death also told the family that Moataz appeared to be in good health.

The news of his death was therefore devastating, Basil said.

“The Israeli occupation summoned my father yesterday, and an officer informed him that his son had died in prison without specifying the cause or mentioning any health issues,” al-Atrash told Middle East Eye.

The officer asked his father to sign a consent form for an autopsy, he said.

The family is now awaiting the results.

They also fear Israeli authorities could withhold Moataz’s body, a practice Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups say has occurred in previous cases.

‘Preparing to welcome him home’

Basil al-Atrash said his brother was arrested at his home in Hebron on 5 October 2025.

He was initially placed under administrative detention for six months. The order was later renewed.

“We were awaiting the end of this second renewal period on 3 October, hoping for his release and preparing to welcome him home,” Basil said.

“Instead, we were devastated to learn he would never return.”

Moataz was the youngest of six children.

Before his arrest, he worked at a pastry factory and was trying to build a future for himself.

It was his first arrest and, ultimately, his last.

Prison deaths rise

The detainees commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society described al-Atrash’s death as part of what they called a “policy of extermination” against Palestinian prisoners.

His death brings to 92 the number of Palestinian detainees known to have died in Israeli prisons since October 2023, including 53 from Gaza, according to the organisations.

They said the figure includes only deaths whose identities have been verified and that the actual number could be higher.

Dozens of other detainees remain forcibly disappeared, with no reliable information about their whereabouts or condition.

“Prisons are currently witnessing one of the bloodiest periods since 1967,” the groups said in a statement.

Their data records 329 prisoner deaths in Israeli custody since 1967.

The organisations attribute the recent rise in deaths to what they describe as systematic abuses, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, physical abuse, sexual assault, humiliation and the denial of basic rights.

“The fate of several detainees from Gaza remains unknown amidst enforced disappearance,” the statement said.

It added that “accumulating testimonies and data indicate that dozens of detainees have been subjected to field executions”.

Thousands remain in Israeli custody

As of early September, Palestinian prisoner advocacy organisations estimated that around 9,350 Palestinians were held in Israeli jails.

The figure includes 90 women and more than 350 children held at Megiddo and Ofer prisons.

Some 3,176 prisoners are held under administrative detention, a system that allows detention without charge or trial and can be renewed repeatedly.

A further 1,393 prisoners were classified by Israel as “unlawful combatants," who can also be held indefinitely without charge or trial.

The organisations said the figure does not include all detainees from Gaza held in Israeli military camps under that classification.

It also excludes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

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