QALQILYA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) A Palestinian prisoner was pronounced dead on Saturday in an Israeli jail a few weeks after he was detained by the Israeli occupation police.
According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, 59-year-old Abdul-Rahim Amer, a resident of Qalqilya, died in Hadarim prison.
The Israeli police arrested Amer along with his son on March 17 during their presence in Tira town before an Israeli court sentenced him to one month on a charge of entering Israel (1948 occupied Palestine) without a permit.
There is no clear information available so far about the reason for his death. Amer and his son were seeking to find jobs in the town to support their family.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, many Palestinian workmen have no choice but to risk entering Israel without permits.
“They are caught between a rock and hard place: On one hand, Israel issues permits sparingly, based on arbitrarily chosen stringent criteria. On the other hand, it prevents the development of an independent Palestinian economy by restricting imports, exports, industrial development and movement, and by taking over land reserves and other Palestinian resources. This leaves Palestinians with no possibility to make a substantial living within the West Bank. This reality serves Israeli interests, as it guarantees cheap [and] disempowered labor,” B’Tselem says.
