Gaza - Mohammed Habib
Arafat Jaradat died in Israeli custody on Saturday from alleged torture
Protests continue to cause chaos across the West Bank, following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail on Saturday.
The Palestinian government is alleging that Arafat Jaradat, who
died in Israeli custody, was tortured to death, dismissing claims that his death was due to a heart attack.
Arafat Jaradat's autopsy showed torture resulting from fractures in his body and bruises in his face, while his heart was in good condition, said Issa Qaraqaa, the minister in charge of prisoner affairs, citing a Palestinian doctor who took part in the autopsy.
According to Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, 30-year-old Jaradat from Sair near Hebron in the occupied West Bank was arrested last Monday for alleged involvement in a stone-throwing incident that injured an Israeli.
His death sparked protests across several areas of the West Bank, with the Israeli army deploying hundreds of troops in anticipation of an uprising. Medical sources have reported that 26 Palestinians have so far been injured in clashes with Israeli forces.
There have also been eyewitness accounts of Israeli troops shooting at protesters in the street, many of whom are believed to be young.
"The assassination of Jaradat puts the whole world, the United Nations, international human rights organisations, to assume their responsibilities in fighting the occupation's violations," said H?z?r Habib, leader of the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
"This killing is not the first to take place in occupation prisons and will not be the last," he added.
Speaking to angry demonstrators in the Palestinian town of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, the PIJ official also warned that a “third uprising is looming and it will uproot the Israeli occupation this time."
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesperson for Hamas, called for an end to "the prisoners' suffering in occupation prisons", adding that his movement "will not rest" until they are released.
Meanwhile, Israeli sources have claimed that Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu sent negotiator Isaac Molho to the Palestinian Authority, urging him to call for calm and an end to the violence.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Issa Qaraqaa, a Palestinian minister responsible for prisoner affairs, demanded an investigation in to Jaradat’s death by “impartial” international authorities.
"An uprising does not require a decree. It is a spontaneous, the spark of which has been lit by Israel’s actions. If President Obama wants to visit the region in calm conditions, he must make a move by pressuring Israel to release the prisoners, especially those conducting a hunger strike. Otherwise, he arrives at a burning Palestine with the occupation solely responsible for any escalation," he said.
Qaraqaa went on to claim that 71 prisoners had been "killed through torture" in Israeli prisons since 1967.
"Israel is the only country where torture is legal and which allows the mental and physical torture of Palestinian detainees," Qaraqaa concluded.