BETHLEHEM, Palestine 

The body of Daoud Al-Khatib was received late Friday at the Mazmoreia military checkpoint in Bethlehem after being detained for nearly six months at a mortuary. 

Al-Khatib,45, died in Israel’s Ofer prison Sept. 2, 2020, months before he was set to complete an 18-year sentence.

He suffered a heart attack in 2017 and underwent open-heart surgery. His situation worsened as a result of deliberate medical negligence by prison authorities until his death.

Al-Khatib lost his parents while he was in prison. He was detained in 2001 for committing acts of resistance against Israeli occupation. 

Ceremonies will begin Saturday at the Church of the Nativity square with a military funeral.

Seven hundred Palestinian inmates are patients, 300 of which are suffering chronic diseases and facing medical neglect and repression.

There are 226 Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli jails, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, a group that advocates for prisoners and their families.

Eight Palestinians, including two Gazans, have died inside Israel jails and their bodies are still in Israeli custody.

Among them is Anees Doleh, who died of a heart attack in the Ashkelon jail during a hunger strike in 1980.

Israel is holding the bodies of 235 Palestinian martyrs.