A Palestinian detainee died in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday, a Palestinian official said.

The head of the Prisoner Affairs Committee said Raed al-Jabari died in Israel’s Soroka Medical Center after being moved there early Tuesday.

Issa Qaraqe, the former Minister of Prisoner Affairs, held Israel responsible for al-Jabari’s life and demanded an investigation into the cause of his death.

Al-Jabari was being detained in Ofer jail before being moved to Eshel prison, and Qaraqe said he was “tortured while being transferred.”

Israeli authorities allegedly told other Palestinian prisoners that al-Jabari hung himself, he added.

Abd al-Salam al-Jabari, the prisoner’s father, blamed Israel for killing his son and demanded an immediate investigation.

Al-Jabari spoke to his wife and children on Sunday and was in a good physical condition, his father said.

He was detained by Israeli forces on July 26 when he turned himself in after running into several Israelis with his car in Gush Etzion. He told Israeli forces that the incident was an accident.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prison Service did not answer calls seeking comment.

Last week, a Palestinian prisoner was moved to a hospital ward after undergoing torture at Israel’s Russian Compound detention center.

Some 4,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails launched hunger-strike action in 2013 to protest the death of Arafat Jaradat, who died in Israel’s Megido jail after being tortured by Israeli interrogators.

Around 7,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, more than 2,000 of whom were arrested over the summer alone.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)