Death of Walid Daqqah
Israel accuses Amnesty of “disturbing obsession with sadistic murderers.”
April 10, 2024, 9:01 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
In 1987, Palestinian Walid Daqqah was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an Israeli soldier. Now he died two years after a cancer diagnosis. Amnesty’s condolences for his death are now causing a dispute between Israel and Amnesty International.
The death of Palestinian Walid Daqqah, imprisoned for murder and kidnapping, is sparking discussion between Amnesty International and Israel. Daqqah died at the age of 62 in a hospital near Tel Aviv. Amnesty International and the German branch of the human rights organization then expressed their solidarity with Daqqah, posted expressions of sadness and criticized Israel. It didn’t take long for Israel to respond.
According to the verdict, Daqqah led an armed group in 1984 that was close to the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). According to the court, the group around Daqqah kidnapped the 19-year-old Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam, brutally tortured and mutilated him and finally murdered him. The judges sentenced Daqqah to 37 years in prison for commanding the group in 1987. He himself always denied allegations of involvement in the murder. The prison sentence was originally scheduled to expire in March 2023, but in 2018 Daggah received an additional two-year sentence for smuggling cell phones to distribute to other prisoners. According to Amnesty, he was the longest-serving Palestinian imprisoned in Israel.
On Amnesty International’s English-language account, Daqqah is referred to simply as a “Palestinian writer.” He had written books while in prison.
During the course of his prison sentence, Daqqah developed bone marrow cancer in 2021. He died on April 7, 2024. Amnesty used the illness as an opportunity to call for his dismissal. Now the human rights organization accuses Israel of having “humiliated and tortured” Daqqah since October 7, 2023, the Hamas attack. “He was denied visits from his family and the medical care he needed,” writes Amnesty Germany on X. On October 7th, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip. However, there are still around 130 hostages in the hands of Hamas.
The Israeli embassy responds by saying that Daqqah died of cancer, but that he received cancer treatment while in prison. “You have a disturbing obsession with glorifying sadistic murderers,” reads the official account on X. “We look forward to your next tribute to Ted Bundy.” Bundy was an American serial killer who is said to have killed at least 30 women. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X that Daqqah unfortunately died of natural causes and not the death penalty.
Amnesty International has since called on Israel to release Daqqah’s body. “It is heartbreaking that Walid Daqqah died in Israeli custody, despite many calls for his urgent release on humanitarian grounds,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, senior director at Amnesty International.
Daqqah, 62, also leaves behind a four-year-old daughter. According to his wife, this was conceived with smuggled sperm after the Israeli authorities refused a conjugal visit.