Events
2026-02-03
General Secretariat statement on the martyrdom of former prisoner Khaled Al-Saifi
The article summarizes the League of Arab States’ condemnation of the death of former Palestinian prisoner Khaled Al-Saifi, highlighting alleged medical neglect in detention and calling for international accountability and solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The League of Arab States is following with profound concern and deep indignation the ongoing Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees in occupation prisons, which reached a tragic climax with the death of former prisoner Khaled Al-Saifi (67), from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, on the evening of 2 February 2026, just one week after his release from the Ramleh Prison Clinic in a critical health condition.
According to a joint statement issued by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Al-Saifi was subjected during his four-month period of arbitrary administrative detention to systematic torture, abuse, starvation, and severe beatings, in addition to the deliberate denial of appropriate medical treatment for his deteriorating health resulting from acute pulmonary fibrosis.
The Israeli prison administration also administered two injections it claimed were for influenza prevention; however, these reportedly caused severe inflammations and a rapid worsening of his condition, pointing to a deliberate criminal policy aimed at the “slow execution” of Palestinian prisoners.
The League of Arab States (Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector) strongly condemns this heinous crime, which adds to a long record of inhumane Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners, including deliberate medical neglect, the use of detainees as subjects for medical experimentation, and the procrastination in providing necessary treatment—leading to the spread of disease and the deaths of dozens inside prisons or shortly after their release in critical condition.
Such systematic practices constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, and are intended to break the will of the Palestinian people and weaken their legitimate resistance to occupation.
The League holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the death of Khaled Al-Saifi and considers his release in a critical condition an attempt to evade accountability for the crimes committed against him, within a policy described as “slow execution.” It further stresses that this crime forms part of a broader campaign involving the detention of thousands of Palestinians—including children, women, and the sick—without fair trials and under appalling living conditions marked by torture and deprivation of healthcare.
The General Secretariat asserts the urgent need to dispatch an immediate international fact-finding mission to Israeli prisons to uncover violations and medical neglect and to hold the responsible Israeli officials accountable for these crimes.
It also calls for exerting pressure on Israel to provide appropriate medical care and to secure the immediate release of critically ill detainees so that they may receive treatment abroad, as urgent intervention is required to save the lives of sick prisoners.
The League of Arab States further affirms its full solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence and calls for an immediate end to all forms of occupation and violations, and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The cause of Palestinian prisoners is an Arab and humanitarian one, and the League will remain committed to supporting it until full justice is achieved.
According to a joint statement issued by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Al-Saifi was subjected during his four-month period of arbitrary administrative detention to systematic torture, abuse, starvation, and severe beatings, in addition to the deliberate denial of appropriate medical treatment for his deteriorating health resulting from acute pulmonary fibrosis.
The Israeli prison administration also administered two injections it claimed were for influenza prevention; however, these reportedly caused severe inflammations and a rapid worsening of his condition, pointing to a deliberate criminal policy aimed at the “slow execution” of Palestinian prisoners.
The League of Arab States (Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector) strongly condemns this heinous crime, which adds to a long record of inhumane Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners, including deliberate medical neglect, the use of detainees as subjects for medical experimentation, and the procrastination in providing necessary treatment—leading to the spread of disease and the deaths of dozens inside prisons or shortly after their release in critical condition.
Such systematic practices constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, and are intended to break the will of the Palestinian people and weaken their legitimate resistance to occupation.
The League holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the death of Khaled Al-Saifi and considers his release in a critical condition an attempt to evade accountability for the crimes committed against him, within a policy described as “slow execution.” It further stresses that this crime forms part of a broader campaign involving the detention of thousands of Palestinians—including children, women, and the sick—without fair trials and under appalling living conditions marked by torture and deprivation of healthcare.
The General Secretariat asserts the urgent need to dispatch an immediate international fact-finding mission to Israeli prisons to uncover violations and medical neglect and to hold the responsible Israeli officials accountable for these crimes.
It also calls for exerting pressure on Israel to provide appropriate medical care and to secure the immediate release of critically ill detainees so that they may receive treatment abroad, as urgent intervention is required to save the lives of sick prisoners.
The League of Arab States further affirms its full solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence and calls for an immediate end to all forms of occupation and violations, and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The cause of Palestinian prisoners is an Arab and humanitarian one, and the League will remain committed to supporting it until full justice is achieved.
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