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

JERUSALEM (AP) — An investigation into the death of a Palestinian teenager in an Israeli prison has been closed by an Israeli judge, who said even though it's clear the boy was starved, the cause of death is undeterminable, a newly-unsealed court decision has revealed.

The ruling provided insight into Israel’s handling of the flashpoint case of 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, which gained notoriety because he was the first Palestinian under 18 to die in Israeli detention, said Palestinian officials.

Ahmad, who was described by his family as a healthy teenager, spent six months in Israel's Megiddo prison before he collapsed in March 2025. His autopsy did not establish a single, definitive cause of death, but said that starvation was likely the leading cause, according to the report of an Israeli doctor who observed the procedure.

In the now-unsealed ruling, published first by Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli judge supervising the investigation ordered the probe be halted in December despite the autopsy findings. The judge said evidence of Ahmad's starvation did not prove cause of death.

“The fact that he was apparently starved cannot be hidden and should not be hidden,” wrote Judge Ehud Kaplan, according to the ruling, shared with The Associated Press by Haaretz. “But I cannot determine based on the findings of the expert report that there is a causal connection 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 state of affairs, the investigation into his death is exhausted.”

In Israel, judges can be requested to oversee an investigation into deaths of detainees in custody. They are able to seek and review evidence to deduce the cause of death and probe whether a death resulted from wrongdoing by any party. If evidence of wrongdoing is established, the judge can move toward criminal indictments.

Or, they can order the investigation stopped, as was done in Ahmad’s case.

Haaretz published the ruling after successfully filing for a gag order on the case to be lifted. Apart from the sentence, the rest of the decision remains sealed.

The case has shed light on Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees — particularly teens and children — in its prisons.

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

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

His report also noted that Ahmad had been complaining to the prison about inadequate food for months, citing reports from the prison medical clinic.

Rights groups have documented widespread abuse, including inadequate food and water rations, in Israeli detention centers and prisons since the start of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7, 2023. Former detainees have told the AP that the conditions are dire, describing beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, scabies outbreaks and poor sanitary conditions.

At the end of last September, Israel’s Prison Service said it was holding 350 Palestinian minors in detention or in prison on what it called “security” grounds, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem, citing official figures. It said a further 110 Palestinian teenagers and children were also being held for being 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 all prisoners are given basic rights.

Ahmad's father told the AP his son's body is still being held by Israeli authorities. The family is petitioning Israeli courts to get it back.

“What is happening in Israeli prisons is a real tragedy, as there is no value for life,” he told the AP in April 2025.

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