An Israeli court has concluded that a Palestinian minor who died in custody most likely succumbed to starvation, despite the formal closure of the investigation into his death.
According to details reported by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, Judge Ehud Kaplan ruled that Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmed, a 17-year-old from Silwad, suffered from severe malnutrition while held in Megiddo prison, and that starvation was the most likely cause of death.
“The fact that he suffered from malnutrition cannot be concealed,” the judge wrote, referring to the teenager’s extreme weight loss.
While the investigation was closed due to a lack of definitive evidence directly linking his condition to the cause of death, an autopsy indicated that he died from an intestinal infection leading to organ failure, with his weakened state attributed to significant weight loss.
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Israeli authorities have not returned Ahmed’s body, despite his Brazilian citizenship and a petition submitted to the Supreme Court seeking its release.
Lawyer Nadia Daka told Haaretz that the minor died as a result of starvation in custody, warning that similar cases could recur without accountability.
The report also highlighted the conditions of other detainees in Megiddo prison, noting that several prisoners exhibited similar symptoms of severe malnutrition.
In one case, a minor reportedly lost 20 kilograms, reducing his body mass index to 15.2, well below the minimum healthy level of 18.5. Medical assessments described his condition as critical and life-threatening, underscoring concerns about the humanitarian situation inside Israeli detention facilities.
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