550 Palestinians serving life terms in Israel jails

Middle East Monitor  /  April 25, 2022

The number of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences inside Israeli jails rose to 550 after an Israeli court yesterday sentenced Palestinian prisoner Khalil Dweikat to life, the Palestine Centre for Prisoners Studies said.

The Israeli district court in Lod/Lydda sentenced Dweikat, 46, from the village of Rujeib near Nablus, to life and fined him 258,000 shekels ($78,000).

This brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who are currently serving life sentences in Israeli jails to 550.

Dweikat was arrested on 24 August 2020, and interrogated for more than a month over claims he killed collaborators. He spent six months in solitary confinement.

Israeli occupation forces also demolished his two-storey house in November 2020, leaving his six daughters and wife homeless.

Life terms mean 99 years in prison, the Palestine Centre for Prisoners Studies explained.