Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official, publicly expressed sorrow over the death of an Arab terrorist who died from an illness while in Israeli custody and demanded an international probe into the incident.
Bassam al-Saeh, a terrorist who was a member of the Hamas cell responsible for the murder of Eitam and Naama Henkin in October 2015, died in an Israeli hospital on Sunday after battling a severe illness.
Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and chief peace negotiator with Israel, stated that “Palestine is mourning the martyr Bassam AlSaeh, who died in an Israeli prison.”
The term martyr, or Shahid in Arabic, is the term for a Muslim warrior who died while fighting the infidel.
“We hold the Israeli government fully responsible and call upon the International Crimes Court to begin an immediate investigation. Israeli officials must be held accountable,” Erekat added, apparently alleging Israeli misconduct which caused his death.
The terrorist, 46, was affiliated with the Hamas terrorist organization and was serving a prison sentence for the murder of the Henkin couple who were gunned down in front of their children. He was also imprisoned for security-related offenses, attempted murder, stone-throwing, kidnapping, coercion, false imprisonment, membership in an unrecognized organization, contact with hostile organization and provision of shelter to terror elements.
Al-Saeh had been in Israeli custody since October 2015 and suffered from incurable chronic illnesses throughout his imprisonment.