The Palestinian Detainees and Ex‑Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society announced on Saturday the death of imprisoned Palestinian journalist Marwan Fathi Hussein Herzallah, 54, from Nablus, inside Israel’s Megiddo prison.
The General Authority for Civil Affairs formally notified the two organizations of his death before his family was contacted.
Harzallah, an employee of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Nablus, had been detained since 8 January 2026 and remained in pre‑trial detention on allegations of “incitement.”
He previously survived a gunshot injury inflicted by Israeli forces in 1995, which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. His son, Tahrir Harzallah, is also held under administrative detention, without charges or trial.
In a statement mourning his death, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation described Hatzalah as a committed journalist known for his professionalism, integrity, and national dedication.
The institution said his killing forms part of a pattern of ongoing violations against Palestinian detainees held under harsh conditions and subjected to deliberate medical neglect.
The Commission and the Prisoners’ Society said Herzallah is among more than 100 Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli prisons and military camps since the start of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in October 2023. The identities of 89 of those who died in custody have been confirmed so far.
The two organizations said the deaths inside Israeli prisons reflect widespread torture, systematic starvation, medical neglect, sexual abuse, and degrading treatment, alongside conditions they described as inhumane and intentionally punitive.
They added that Israeli detention centers have become “one of the central arenas of the ongoing crimes,” marking the deadliest period in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.
Harzallah’s death comes as Israeli politicians, especially fanatic Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, are advancing legislation that would authorize the execution of Palestinian detainees, formalizing what rights groups describe as long‑standing extrajudicial killings carried out “outside the framework of law.”
