RAMALLAH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have called Thursday for international monitoring over the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails after the death of an inmate in custody.
Faris Baroud, 51 years old, from Gaza Strip's Shati' refugee camp, died Wednesday in jail. Palestinian sources said he died as a result of neglect of his medical condition.
Baroud was serving multiple life sentences and has been imprisoned for 28 years.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said in an emailed statement that Baroud died "as a result of deliberate medical neglect," adding that the incident indicates the critical situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Ashrawi called on the international community to intervene immediately and launch an investigation into Baroud's death and the conditions of Palestinian prisoners.
PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said earlier that the Palestinian side is urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a judicial probe with Israeli officials over Baroud's death, stressing that Israeli defense minister, interior minister and prime minister should be responsible for his death.
PLO's Detainees Affairs Commission declared that it has submitted a request to the Central Israeli Court in Ber Sheva south of Israel to hold an autopsy on Baroud in the presence of a Palestinian forensic doctor to understand the causes of his death and hand his body over to his family in Gaza Strip.
The commission said in a press statement that Baroud had needed special psychological and medical care but did not receive the necessary support. He suffered hernia and liver disease and received surgery a few months ago, but was not treated thoroughly.
Baroud was imprisoned in 1991 after being convicted of killing an Israeli settler.
Palestinian official data showed that as many as 219 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli jails, including 63 who died of medical neglect.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is following up closely with relevant international bodies, most prominently the International Red Cross Society, to "guarantee the accountability of those responsible for this crime."
The ministry's statement slammed what it described as "the medical neglect crime committed by the Israeli prison authority that has led to Baroud's death," saying that it consolidates the "hatred and killing mentality that is taking over Israel."
The Palestinian presidency issued a statement Wednesday night, in which it paid condolences to Baroud's family and warned against the "continuation of slow killing sequence of Palestinian prisoners."
The Palestinian presidency held the Israeli government responsible for Baroud's death.
According to the PLO Detainees Affairs Commission, there are over 6,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including nearly 250 children, 54 women and 27 prisoners who have been serving sentences longer than 30 years.
