Hamas decries death of Palestinian in Israeli custody

Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Monday decried the death of a young Palestinian man detained by the Israeli army last month, calling it "a crime warranting punishment".

Raed al-Salhi, 21, died Sunday of gunshot wounds sustained during his Aug. 9 arrest by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank.

In a Monday statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem described al-Salhi's death in Israeli police custody as "fresh confirmation of the Israeli occupation's insistence on violating all humanitarian norms".

Asserting that the young man's death "calls for accountability and punishment", Qassem said: "The occupation's crimes against [Palestinian] detainees will not break their will."

The spokesman went on to note that the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails represented a top priority for Hamas, which has governed the blockaded Gaza Strip since 2007.

Issa Qaraqe, head of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners' Affairs, told Andolu Agency earlier that al-Salhi had succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained on Aug. 9 when he was arrested in Bethlehem's Dheisheh refugee camp.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns in the occupied territories targeting "wanted" Palestinians.

Around 6,400 Palestinians are currently languishing in prisons throughout the self-proclaimed Jewish state, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs.