Palestinian officials name detainee who died in Israeli custody
The 49-year-old was from al-Ubeidiya, in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. He was transferred to Hadasa hospital on Saturday from Israel's Ofer Prison.
Radaydeh was a married father of seven. He has been imprisoned since 18 September 2023, according to Palestinian media.
The total number of Palestinians to die in Israeli custody since the war on Gaza began has now risen to 65. At least 40 of these detainees are from Gaza.
It marks the deadliest period for Palestinian prisoners since 1967.
In a joint statement, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said they held Israel responsible for Radaydeh's death.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Syrian foreign minister held meeting with Israeli officials in Paris
Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria's foreign minister, participated in a US-mediated meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday, according to Syria's state news agency Sana. Syria and Israel have held US-mediated talks in recent months, though it has rarely been acknowledged in Syrian state media. The most recent discussions focused on de-escalation in southern Syria and non-interference in Syrian domestic affairs, Sana reported. 'These talks are taking place under US mediation, as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in Syria and preserving the unity and integrity of its territory,' Sana reported. The two sides discussed re-activating the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which created a UN buffer zone in Syria's Golan Heights, an area that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters When Bashar al-Assad's government fell in December, Israel occupied the buffer zone and declared that the 1974 agreement was null and void. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials about the talks on Tuesday. Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that Ron Dermer, Israel's strategic affairs minister, was set to attend the meeting, alongside Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria. It was the second such meeting to take place between the two countries in Paris in less than a month, Reuters reported. Sweida after the ceasefire: Executions, a mass grave, and the voices left behind Read More » Dermer and Shaibani also met in Azerbaijan a few weeks ago. The talks last month centred around the situation in the southern region of Sweida. Violence in Sweida erupted on 13 July between Bedouin fighters, Druze factions and government forces, killing over 1,500 people. Israel also carried out strikes on Syrian cities, including the capital Damascus, framing its attacks as an effort to protect the Druze minority. A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, while the Syrian government said it had set up a committee to investigate the violence. Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria has been rocked by waves of sectarian violence which new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has struggled to manage. In March, attacks by Assad loyalists in the coastal province of Latakia provoked a violent sectarian backlash against the Alawi population, which the former president and his family were members of. At least 1,500 Alawis were killed in the subsequent violence, with a Reuters investigation tracing much of it back to officials in Damascus.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
How Egypt's reliance on Israeli gas could blow up in its face
Since the mid-1990s, negotiations over natural gas between Egypt and Israel have oscillated between strict secrecy and political exploitation. In 1994, the first discreet talks began over the possibility of exporting Egyptian gas to Israel via undersea pipelines, at a time when the Egypt-Israel peace treaty was still hugely unpopular, and any such step was seen as a political gamble. Yet economic interests and deep security ties between the two countries' intelligence services pushed the matter forward, culminating in a 2005 agreement to supply Israel with Egyptian gas at preferential rates. That deal later sparked a major scandal when it was revealed that the prices were far below global market levels. The arrangement, implemented through the East Mediterranean Gas Company in direct coordination with Egypt's General Intelligence Service (GIS), eventually led to one of the largest international arbitration cases brought against Egypt. Following the 2011 revolution, with repeated attacks on the Sinai pipeline, gas deliveries ceased. Israel's Electric Corporation filed for arbitration and, in 2015, won a final ruling awarding it $1.7bn in compensation. A similar case was brought by Spain's Union Fenosa after gas supplies to the Damietta liquefaction plant, which was 80 percent owned by the Spaniards, were cut. The company won $2bn in compensation. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters These combined liabilities placed Cairo in a severe financial and diplomatic bind, prompting the search for a solution to settle all disputes in one stroke. That solution was for Egypt - once a net exporter of gas - to become an importer of Israeli gas. In February 2018, Israel's Delek Drilling announced a $15bn, 10-year deal to export gas to Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed it as a 'day of celebration', declaring it would bolster Israel's economy, security and regional standing. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, for his part, downplayed the criticism, insisting the government was not a party to the agreement and that it was purely a matter for the private sector - though all indications point to the GIS, which under 2022 amendments to Law 100/1971 gained the right to establish and hold stakes in companies, as the real architect of the deal. Why Israel? The key question remains: why Israel specifically? The answer lies less in economics than in geopolitics. The agreement - boosted this month by a record $35bn deal that will see a tripling of Egyptian gas imports - is part of a broader effort to normalise and institutionalise new regional alignments in the Eastern Mediterranean, integrating Israel as a central energy supplier and political actor. Sisi has positioned himself to the West as a 'moderate' interlocutor with Israel, offering it practical recognition and, in return, securing valuable political credit in Washington and Tel Aviv, which ensures their continued backing regardless of Egypt's human rights record. American pressure has been decisive. Washington championed the creation of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in Cairo in 2019, bringing together Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, while excluding Turkey and Russia. The US goal was not merely 'cooperation', but to make Egypt the export bridge for Israeli gas via its liquefaction facilities in Damietta and Idku, re-shipping it to Europe and reducing the EU's dependence on Russia. In any future conflict, Israel could, with a single decision, cut gas supplies, plunging Egypt into blackouts, halting factories, and crippling its war industries For Sisi, this role promised far greater political dividends than economic ones, placing him at the centre of a western strategic project. Alternative paths to energy independence - such as sourcing from Algeria, Qatar, Iran or even Russia - were dismissed. Such options would require complex diplomacy, risk placing Egypt outside the US strategic orbit, and, in some cases, involve states firmly in the opposing Middle Eastern camp (notably Iran and Russia). Instead, the Israeli option aligned perfectly with the geopolitical axis Cairo had chosen. In practice, the arrangement was more than an energy trade; it recast the strategic relationship between Egypt and Israel. Importing Israeli gas allowed Egypt to liquefy it at its own plants, especially in Damietta and Idku, for re-export to Europe, while at the same time resolving the arbitration cases with Tel Aviv and Madrid. Yet what looks on paper like a win-win economic deal masks deeper transformations that cut to the core of Egypt's sovereignty over its resources. Consider the actual structure of Egypt's gas sector: even with the discovery of the giant Zohr field in 2015 - touted as the salvation of Egypt's energy balance - the state, through its holding company EGAS, owns only about 40 percent of production. The remainder is split among Italy's Eni, Britain's BP, Russia's Rosneft and the UAE's Mubadala, each free to sell their share to the government or on the open market. In other words, the oft-repeated claim of 'self-sufficiency' is largely an accounting illusion; the so-called surplus is mostly corporate property, not the state's. Stark implications What's more, the most decisive player has been the GIS itself, which under its new legal powers has become a direct economic actor with energy holdings and negotiating authority. Its influence has extended beyond Egypt's domestic energy balance to reshaping regional gas relations in ways that serve political aims beyond Cairo. This is where the EMGF plays a pivotal role. For Washington, it is a tool to re-engineer the Eastern Mediterranean energy map, cement Israel's place as a normal fixture in the regional order, and deny its rivals any leverage in energy markets. For Egypt, it has made the country indispensable to Israel's gas export strategy, but also tied its own energy security to a web of dependencies whose ultimate decision-making lies abroad. The Egypt-Israel gas deal: What's the chance it will go up in smoke? Read More » The security implications are stark. Israeli gas now feeds Egypt's power plants and factories, including those producing military equipment. This effectively places the keys to Egypt's industrial output, and even its defence capabilities, in the hands of a state that has historically targeted Egyptian soldiers on the border. In any future conflict, Israel could, with a single decision, cut gas supplies, plunging Egypt into blackouts, halting factories, and crippling its war industries. The dependency stretches to Gaza as well. The Gaza Marine field, discovered in 1999 about 36km offshore, has remained untapped under Israeli blockade and political pressure. Now it is being revived as part of a broader political-economic package: Gaza's reconstruction, under a Palestinian leadership 'acceptable' to Israel, with direct Israeli oversight of development and production. In 2021, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the field and sell most of its output to Egypt, under arrangements managed by energy companies linked to the GIS. This not only binds Gaza's economic security to Israel but also casts Cairo not as a guarantor of Palestinian independence, but as an operational partner in Tel Aviv's strategy. All of this is unfolding amid a global energy realignment. The war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and Europe's urgent need to diversify gas supplies have turned the Eastern Mediterranean into an attractive alternative. But making Israel a central player in this system was only possible with the acceptance and cooperation of major Arab states - Egypt foremost among them. The result is a dense network of pipelines, liquefaction plants, and long-term contracts ensuring Israel's indispensability to Europe's energy security for decades to come. A new equation The 2018 deal thus became more than an agreement between two companies. It is the embodiment of a new equation: a country that once owned its resources and exported its surplus now finds itself dependent on imports from a neighbour that once occupied its land and still occupies Arab territory, all under the banner of 'economic cooperation'. While the Egyptian government sells these policies as strategic triumphs, the facts on the ground suggest something closer to the surrender of national leverage While the Egyptian government sells these policies as strategic triumphs, the facts on the ground suggest something closer to the surrender of national leverage in exchange for regionally assigned roles crafted abroad. Ultimately, this is not just a story about gas; it is a story about sovereignty, and how natural resources can shift from being a source of strength to a tool of subjugation when placed within asymmetric political alliances. Egypt, long self-styled as the beating heart of the Arab world and its security backbone, now shares the decision to power its factories and defence systems with an external actor, reflecting deeper changes in the regional order, and the transformation of energy from a commodity into a geopolitical weapon. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Starvation in Gaza is met with humanitarian theatre, not intervention
Following repeated warnings by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Unicef and others of a risk of famine throughout 2024, Israel's systematic denial of food, water and medicine to Gaza has reached its inevitable conclusion: mass starvation, with hundreds already killed as a direct result of intentional deprivation. Condemnation of Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza has grown in recent weeks. And yet all this moment has revealed is the exceptional threshold for even the most basic display of liberal concern. Palestinians must be starved to death on camera, in full view of the world, before the western political class shows a modicum of unease. Even then, it is only suffering inflicted on Palestinian children that appears to evoke discomfort. In the UK, both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have placed particular emphasis on hunger and malnutrition among children. Lammy has described "innocent children holding out their hand for food", while Starmer has expressed that "images of starving children in particular are revolting". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Listening to their latest performance of selective concern, I am reminded of the Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd, who reflects in Perfect Victims that "we practice a politics of appeal, transforming our children into persuasive talking points, hoping to pull at the heartstrings of the heartless". As Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people continues unabated, only the most barbaric crimes have elicited fleeting condemnation or brief coverage in the mainstream media. Western appetite By December 2024, Israel had committed more than 9,900 massacres against Palestinians in Gaza. A single one of these crimes committed against white people anywhere in the world would have been enough to swiftly end all military, political and economic support to the perpetrator. At first glance, it might appear that the West will permit Israel to kill Palestinians in any manner of ways except by starvation It is not simply global indifference and apathy that led us to this moment - an ambivalent audience would eventually tire of Israel's violence and respond to public dissent. Rather, 680 days of unrelenting genocide stands as testament to the West's bloodlust for Palestinian death. Western powers are captivated by, and dependent on, Israel's spectacle of violence. There is profit to be made from the genocide too, with some already speaking openly of building theme parks and casinos atop the mass graves of the Palestinian people. Is Israel's starvation of children a step too far? At first glance, it might appear that the West will permit Israel to kill Palestinians in any manner of ways except by starvation. Air strikes on homes, hospitals and schools can be denied, downplayed or eventually blamed on Palestinians themselves. After all, the so-called "fog of war" is thickest when it is an Israeli soldier whose finger is on the trigger. Deny, downplay, deflect In response to growing recognition of starvation, Israel and its allies have deployed the same tried and tested strategy: deny, downplay, deflect. First, they say there is no starvation. Then they insist it is not as severe as Palestinians and countless public health experts attest. And when that fails, they blame the UN or the Palestinian armed resistance. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of Israel's genocide in Gaza In a particularly grotesque display of their irredeemable inhumanity, the host and guest on a far-right British TV show recently tried to excuse Israel's weaponisation of hunger by claiming that children were malnourished due to underlying medical conditions, and not for want of food. Have new footnotes been appended to the Geneva Conventions that now make it acceptable to starve children to death as long as they have another health problem, such as cerebral palsy? As political scrutiny has briefly intensified, several states have issued statements of condemnation or reiterated calls for humanitarian access, repeating the same ineffective demands for compliance with international law and the delivery of aid. Yet history should have taught us that you cannot appeal to the benevolence of a genocidaire. This rhetoric of supposed humanitarian concern only functions to deflect attention from the absence of meaningful political intervention, and by extension the deepening culpability of states in Israel's ongoing genocide. Speaking from his golf course on the west coast of Scotland on 28 July, US President Donald Trump announced that the State Department had committed $60m in food aid in June to Gaza (later revealed as $30m, of which only $3m had actually been dispensed as of early August). "Nobody said thank you," Trump complained, while avoiding mention of the unprecedented value of US military aid to Israel during the genocide, overshadowing humanitarian aid with $17.9bn as of October 2024. The sum total of what the West considers politically possible is mouldy food thrown from airplanes, a PR stunt eagerly publicised by the very governments complicit in the slaughter. Starvation as political violence With starvation, there can be no ambiguity of intent. It is impossible to accidentally starve someone, and certainly not to the point of death. Starvation is always an act of intentional deprivation, perpetrated by one group against another. Given the established charge of genocide, Israel's exterminatory intent could not be clearer. Contrary to the suggestion that it is more politically palatable to speak of starvation or famine than of genocide, all are always intentional, always premeditated, and always violent in the most extreme way. No wonder Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again kicked the hasbara machine into full swing. Israel is starving Gaza to death, and still the world does nothing Read More » While experts still dither over acknowledging hundreds of clear instances of genocidal intent from Israeli officials, the evidence of starvation in Gaza reveals the depths of the Zionist logic of elimination. It should be no surprise that Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, was among the first to declare that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide. To this end, starvation must not be framed as a physiological condition that can be remedied with food alone. It is the end stage of the most grotesque form of calculated political violence. The only effective intervention is to stop those who use starvation as a weapon to kill. Anything less is little more than the latest act in Israel's protracted theatre of cruelty, what British writer and rapper Akala has ridiculed as "false charity that gives with one hand and bombs with the other". The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
