Israeli judge closes case of Palestinian teen’s death in prison despite evidence of starvation

JERUSALEM (AP) — Investigation into the incident Death of Palestinian teenager in Israeli prison The newly announced court decision was closed by an Israeli judge who said that although it was clear that the child died of starvation, the cause of death could not be determined.

Palestinian officials said the verdict shed light on Israel’s handling of the flashpoint case of 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who gained notoriety for being the first Palestinian under the age of 18 to die in Israeli custody.

Ahmed, described by his family as a healthy young man, spent six months in Israel’s Megiddo prison before collapsing in March 2025. His autopsy did not reveal a single, definitive cause of death, but he said: Hunger was probably the main cause, According to the report of an Israeli doctor who observed the procedure.

In the now undisclosed decision, first published by Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli judge overseeing the investigation ordered it to be halted in December despite the autopsy findings. The judge said the evidence that Ahmed died of starvation did not prove the cause of death.

“The fact that he apparently died of starvation cannot and should not be concealed,” Judge Ehud Kaplan wrote, according to the decision shared by Haaretz with The Associated Press. “However, based on the findings of the expert report, I cannot determine that there is a causal link between his poor physical condition and his death, and therefore I cannot determine that the death was caused by a crime.”

He added: “Given this circumstance, the investigation into her death has been exhausted.”

In Israel, judges can be requested to supervise the investigation into the deaths of people in custody. They may seek and examine evidence to uncover the cause of death and investigate whether the death was caused by wrongdoing on any part. If evidence of wrongdoing emerges, the judge may pursue criminal charges.

Or, as in Ahmed’s case, they could order the investigation to be stopped.

Haaretz published the decision after successfully instructing it to speak out to have the case dismissed. Apart from the sentence, the rest of the decision remains confidential.

The case shed light on Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees in prisons, especially youth and children.

Ahmed was arrested for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers during a pre-dawn raid on his home in the occupied West Bank town of Silwad in September 2024, his family said. Ahmed’s then-lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, said Israeli authorities rejected requests to visit his client in prison before his death. Ahmed was awaiting another legal hearing when he died, according to his father, Khalid Ahmad.

The Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy, Dr. Daniel Solomon wrote in his report that Ahmed suffered from extreme malnutrition and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies. Solomon said Ahmed likely suffered from colitis, a condition that can cause frequent diarrhea and in some cases lead to death.

His report also noted that Ahmed had been complaining to the prison for months about inadequate food, based on reports from the prison health clinic.

Rights groups documented Widespread abuses in Israel, including inadequate food and water rations Detention centers and prisons since October 7, 2023, when the Israel-Hamas war began. Former detainees told the AP: conditions Horrifying accounts describe beatings, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, scabies epidemics and poor sanitary conditions.

According to information provided by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, based on official figures, at the end of last September, the Israeli Prison Service announced that it was keeping 350 Palestinian children in custody or prison for “security” reasons. It was also stated that 110 Palestinian youth and children were detained on the grounds that they were in Israel illegally.

Israel’s prison service and police did not respond to requests for comment.

The prison service says it operates according to the law and that all prisoners are given basic rights.

Ahmed’s father told the AP that his son’s body was still being held by Israeli authorities. The family is petitioning Israeli courts to get the money back.

“What happens in Israeli prisons is a real tragedy, because life has no value,” he told the AP in April 2025.

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AP Senior Producer Jalal Bwaitel contributed to this report from Ramallah, West Bank.