Palestinian prisoner in Israel dies of medical negligence

Palestinian sources on Tuesday confirmed that a Palestinian inmate died while in the custody of Israel.

The Detainees Affairs Commission of the Palestine Liberation Organization said Sami Abu Diak, 36, died despite "long months of warning of his medical condition," accusing Israel of "medical negligence and willful killing."

Abu Diak had been in prison since September 2002 and was sentenced to 30 years by an Israeli military court.

He is the third Palestinian inmate that has died in custody since July.

According to the quasi-governmental Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC), 222 Palestinians have died in Israeli jails since 1967.

The PPC said Abu Diak was subject to torture and medical malpractice after a surgery in 2015. He was later found to have cancer.

Official data show around 5,500 Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, out of whom 700 are ill or injured, including 30 cases of cancer.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli Prisons Authority said in a press statement that Abu Diak died in Nitzan prison as a result of his illness.