Arab League urges ICC to investigate Israeli jail medical negligence as war crime

The Arab League's General Secretariat has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to include the systematic medical negligence of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons in the ongoing investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel. This appeal follows the recent death of a young Palestinian detainee.

Abdul Rahman Sufian Mohammed al-Sabateen, 21, died on Tuesday night after his health deteriorated due to poor conditions in Israeli detention. His condition had remained stable until a court hearing at the end of November.

The Arab League has characterised Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees as a form of "slow killing and torture". The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has issued a warning regarding the worsening conditions in Israeli prisons as winter approaches, saying that the prison administration is withholding blankets and winter clothing from detainees.

Israel has not yet released Sabateen's body, a practice often employed for months or even years with deceased prisoners.

Sabateen’s death comes amid a push in the Israeli parliament to pass a law legalising the execution of Palestinian prisoners. Since Itamar Ben Gvir's appointment to the Ministry of National Security, there has been a marked increase in detainee deaths in prisons.

Currently, over 9,300 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, with hundreds more detained in Israeli military camps.