Israeli Judiciary Admits to Starvation of Palestinian Minor and Closes Investigation into His Death in Prison

Hebrew press reports have revealed a shocking legal paradox within the Israeli judicial system. A judge acknowledged that 17-year-old Palestinian Walid Ahmed was subjected to starvation and severe malnutrition during his detention. Despite this explicit admission, the court decided to close the criminal investigation into the circumstances of his death, claiming insufficient evidence to directly link his deteriorating physical condition to his death.

Press sources reported that Judge Ehud Kaplan lifted the gag order on the details of the case, which has shaken human rights circles. Ahmed is considered the first Palestinian minor to die in Israeli prisons in decades. This ruling highlights the systematic policies employed by the prison administration against prisoners, particularly in light of the harsh conditions that followed the events of October 2023.

Walid Ahmed died in March 2025 in Megiddo Prison, approximately six months after his arrest from his home in the town of Silwad in the occupied West Bank. His family confirmed that he was in excellent health before his arrest and suffered from no chronic illnesses or significant health problems, reinforcing the theory of slow killing through neglect and starvation.

The report by Israeli physician Daniel Solomon, who oversaw the autopsy, indicated that the boy’s body showed clear signs of severe malnutrition and colitis, in addition to scabies. The doctor explained that the deceased had repeatedly complained to the prison clinic about the insufficient food rations provided to him, but his requests were ignored.

Judge Kaplan justified his decision to halt the legal proceedings last December by claiming that the investigation had exhausted all available avenues, arguing that the autopsy results did not establish a definitive causal link between starvation and death. He wrote in his reasoning that the boy’s emaciated state was undeniable, but legally insufficient to convict the prison service of murder.

For his part, Khaled Ahmed, the father of the martyr, confirmed that the occupation authorities have subjected the family to severe restrictions since the moment of his arrest, rejecting all requests from the lawyer to visit him and check on his well-being. In statements to media sources, the father added that what is happening inside the prison cells is a true tragedy, lacking the most basic standards of humanity, where children’s lives are being taken in cold blood.

The occupation authorities continue to hold the body of the martyr, Walid Ahmed, in morgue refrigerators, refusing to release it to his family for burial in his hometown of Silwad.