Palestinian Prisoner Martyrs 2000–2023 | Executions After Arrest and Medical Neglect in Occupation Prisons

With the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, the arrest of a Palestinian often became a death sentence carried out on the spot. Of the 114 martyrs of the prisoner movement between November 2000 and May 2023, occupation soldiers deliberately killed 47 after arrest, 15 died after being arrested wounded, 39 died of medical neglect and 10 of torture and beating. With this period, the prisoner movement’s martyrs since 1967 reached 237 on the eve of the genocidal war. ^[1][2]

This article is part of Palestinuna’s series on “The martyrs of the prisoner movement” and includes a table of all the martyrs of this period.

Contents

1. In numbers
2. Execution after arrest
3. Medical neglect: slow death
4. Torture and hunger strike
5. The full list
6. Between the accounts
7. Timeline
8. Frequently asked questions about prisoner martyrs 2000–2023

In numbers

^[1][2]

Execution after arrest

In the first years of the al-Aqsa Intifada, between 2000 and 2004, 54 prisoners were killed, 38 of them deliberately after arrest. Farwana’s list describes cases in which young men were arrested wounded and then shot, or handcuffed and then killed: Ibrahim al-Baradiya was arrested on his way to work in November 2000, his hands were bound, and he was shot. ^[1]

On 18 November 2001 Medhat Abu Dalal and Muhammad Hussein were wounded and captured, then killed, their bodies mutilated and run over by a tank. On 22 January 2002 an Israeli force raided an apartment in Nablus, overpowered Yusuf al-Sarkaji, Jaser Samaro, Nasim Abu al-Rous and Karim Mfarjeh in their sleep, arrested and killed them, and then blew up the apartment. On 12 February 2002 Tareq al-Hindawi was wounded and arrested, and soldiers tied him to the front of a jeep until he died. ^[1]

2002 was the deadliest year, with 25 prisoners killed. On 29 March 2002 five young men were arrested and killed inside an apartment; and on 14 April 2002, during the battle of Jenin camp, Hazem Qabha of Ya’bad was executed by firing squad in the square of the al-Damaj neighbourhood after his arrest. ^[1]

Medical neglect: slow death

After 2005 medical neglect became the leading cause of prisoners’ deaths, claiming 32 of the 60 martyrs between 2005 and May 2023. Its martyrs include Rasem Abu Ghurra of Kafr Malik, who died in Megiddo camp in 2005 after a fire in his detention tent, and Maysara Abu Hamdiya of Hebron, who died of cancer in April 2013. ^[1]

In 2019 and 2020 three prisoners with cancer died: Bassam al-Sayeh of Nablus, Sami Abu Diak of Silat al-Dhahr and Kamal Abu Waer of Qabatiya, all of whom had been held in Ramla prison, which prisoners call “the slaughterhouse.” The occupation withheld al-Sayeh’s body for about three years. On 20 December 2022 Nasser Abu Hmeid of Ramallah died of lung cancer. ^[1][3]

Women were not spared: Fatima Taqatqa of Beit Fajjar died in 2017 of medical neglect after being shot, and Sa’diya Farajallah of Idhna died in Damon prison in July 2022. The Syrian prisoner Asaad Abd al-Wali of Mas’ada in the occupied Golan also died in the occupation’s prisons, in Telmond prison in 2016. ^[1][3]

Torture and hunger strike

On 23 February 2013 Arafat Jaradat of Sa’ir died under interrogation in Megiddo prison. The occupation claimed a heart attack, but a Palestinian forensic physician who attended the autopsy found recent bruises and torture marks, a broken rib, and a healthy heart. In 2018 Yasin al-Saradih of Jericho and Muhammad al-Rimawi of Beit Rima died of beating and torture during arrest. ^[1][4]

The last martyr of this period was Sheikh Khader Adnan of Arraba, who died on 2 May 2023 after 87 days on hunger strike against his detention; he had been arrested about 12 times and spent about 9 years in prison. ^[5][1]

The full list

The table lists the martyrs of the prisoner movement between November 2000 and May 2023 in order of date of martyrdom (day/month/year), as given in Abdel Naser Farwana’s list. ^[1][6]

Between the accounts

The two martyrs of 2000: Farwana’s list gives Ibrahim al-Baradiya of Surif on 21 November 2000 and Muhammad Yusuf al-Maghribi of Dheisheh camp on 10 December 2000, while the WAFA list ties the first date to Jamal Thalji of Surif and the second to Ibrahim al-Baradiya of Dheisheh. Farwana lists Jamal Thalji from Jenin on 1 July 2001. ^[1][6]

Khader Adnan: Farwana’s list gives his residence as Jenin camp, while the Al Jazeera Encyclopedia says he was from the town of Arraba in Jenin governorate. ^[1][5]

Arafat Jaradat: the occupation claimed a heart attack; the autopsy found marks of torture. ^[4]

2011 and 2012: Farwana’s list records no martyrs in these two years. ^[1]

Timeline

Frequently asked questions about prisoner martyrs 2000–2023

How many prisoners died between 2000 and 2023?

114 martyrs up to May 2023, bringing the prisoner movement’s total since 1967 to 237 before the genocidal war. ^[1][2]

What was the most common cause during the al-Aqsa Intifada?

Deliberate killing after arrest: 38 of the 54 prisoners who died between 2000 and 2004 were killed this way. ^[1]

What was the most common cause after 2005?

Medical neglect, which killed 32 of 60 martyrs. ^[1]

Who was the last prisoner martyr before the genocidal war?

Sheikh Khader Adnan, on 2 May 2023, after 87 days on hunger strike. ^[5]

Sources and references

1. Abdel Naser Awni Farwana, “List of martyrs of the national prisoner movement,” Palestine Behind Bars, updated to 15 May 2023 (in Arabic).
2. Al-Quds newspaper, on the martyrdom of prisoner Thaer Abu Asab in the Negev prison, 19 November 2023 (in Arabic).
3. Arabi21, “Medical neglect: the occupation’s policy of liquidating sick prisoners,” 2022 (in Arabic).
4. Al Jazeera Net, “PA: Jaradat died under torture,” 24 February 2013 (in Arabic).
5. Al Jazeera Encyclopedia, “Khader Adnan: the Palestinian prisoner martyred in the battle of empty stomachs” (in Arabic).
6. Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) Info Centre, “Martyrs of the national prisoner movement in Israeli prisons and detention camps” (in Arabic).