A prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank, Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara, has died while in Israeli custody, Palestinian authorities and the militant group reported on Friday. Abu Ara, 63, passed away after being transferred from a prison in southern Israel to a hospital, according to a joint statement from the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners affairs body and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club watchdog.
Hamas released a statement mourning the death of Abu Ara, holding the Israeli occupation responsible for what they termed his “assassination through deliberate medical neglect.” The militant group asserted that Abu Ara was suffering from severe health problems at the time of his arrest in October and claimed he was subjected to torture and starvation during his detention.
Israel’s military has yet to respond to these allegations. Palestinian authorities have recently accused Israel of engaging in an abusive “war of revenge” against Palestinian detainees since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. In response, the Israeli military has denied these accusations, asserting that it operates within the bounds of international law and rejects any claims of systematic abuse of detainees.
