Family Learns News of Their Son’s Death in Israeli Prison from Social Media

Nassar Majed Taqatqa's mother. (Photo: via Social Media)

By Wafa Aludaini

Palestinian prisoner, Nassar Majer Taqatqa, from Bethlehem, was announced dead in mysterious circumstances on Tuesday, July 16 in the Nitzan prison.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Movement, Taqatqa’s death was discovered during the morning count, while the prisoner’s family learned the news of their son’s death from social media platforms. 

Palestinian prisoners held in Israel responded with outrage as the news of their comrade’s death was announced, collectively banging on their cell doors and refusing meals. In response, Israeli authorities isolated all prisoners in their individual cells and prevented their lawyers from conducting previous scheduled visits.

Nassar, 31, was detained last June after Israeli forces stormed his house. According to his family, the Israeli army found no evidence that could justify his arrest, which remained unexplained until his death. 

Taqatqa’s mother told reporters:

“I raised them as orphans. I was preparing to get him married, I had bought him clothes and furniture for his new house.” 

She added,

“I am ill and he was always helpful to me.” 

In a statement issued today, the Prisoner’s Information Office said:

“All the indications prove that Nassar was subjected to brutal torture before his death. Additionally, he was not suffering from any disease.” 

In a press conference this morning held in Gaza, national and Islamic factions in the besieged Strip condemned what they described as “the crime of killing Nassar in cold blood”, calling for an investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Taqatqa is the 220th Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli prisons since 1967.

– Wafa Aludaini is a Gaza-based journalist and the head of the 16th October youth group. She contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.

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