They were forced to hand one son over to the Israeli army in return for another. Eight months later he was dead in prison

Ahmad Tazaza’s parents now grapple with sorrow and remorse after their son died last August in Israel’s infamous Megiddo prison. The family’s ordeal began in January 2025 when they surrendered Ahmad, then 20 years old, to authorities in the occupied West Bank.

Ahmad was in good health with no prior medical issues, as his parents described. Yet they had no choice but to hand him over after Israeli forces detained his brother. The family’s home in Qabatiya, a northern West Bank town, became a target of repeated raids during the months leading to his arrest.

“They smashed the house and destroyed everything,” said Najah Abdul Qader, Ahmad’s mother, to Middle East Eye. “He was not at home; he was working at the market and slept there that night. They took his brother and father, then released them, saying, ‘We want him.'”

Qader recounted how an Israeli soldier had warned her of a bombing if Ahmad didn’t surrender. He had previously escaped by leaping from a vehicle crushed by a bulldozer. Despite these threats, the family was forced to comply when Israeli forces detained his brother a second time.

Saeed Tazaza, Ahmad’s father, described the moment of surrender with tears. “They said: ‘We will not release him until you bring your other son.’ His brother is married and has two children. We caught Ahmad and gave him up,” he said.

At the Salem checkpoint near Jenin, the parents handed over their son. “He looked at us and I knew he would not return,” Qader recalled. “He turned his face and walked away. I felt he was going to die that day.”

They believed they were saving his life by sending him to prison, expecting him to be released after some time. “We were forced, and we handed him over. What could we do? This is our fate,” said his father. “He told me, ‘Mum, they torture people in prison.’ I told him, ‘Let them torture you, but not kill you, not shoot you.’ Today, they shoot a person who has done nothing.”

Prison Conditions and Medical Concerns

Ahmad was held as an administrative detainee, a method of indefinite imprisonment without trial or legal access. According to Israeli Prison Service data, 10,465 Palestinian men were classified as “security prisoners” in September 2025, with 7,425 from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

A post-mortem report, dated 8 August 2025, revealed alarming details. Authored by a PHRI doctor, it stated that Ahmad was “reported to be healthy” at detention. However, his records showed he had been suffering from diarrhoea and scabies, and complained of a sore throat before his death. On 2 August, a physician noted bloodstains on his trousers during a clinic visit.

During the examination, Ahmad asked to use the restroom and later collapsed, losing consciousness. Resuscitation efforts, including intubation and CPR, failed. The report raised concerns about potential blood cancer, such as acute leukaemia or lymphoma, but ruled out sudden death causes.

Though the report was presented as evidence, the parents disputed its findings. Without seeing their son or speaking to him during his eight months in custody, they relied on secondhand accounts from released prisoners. An International Committee of the Red Cross officer informed them of his death, though the ICRCHas not had access to Palestinians in the West Bank. The body remains with Israeli authorities, fueling their doubts about the official explanation.