Israeli police are investigating 19 prison guards in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian prisoner

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Nineteen Israeli prison guards are under investigation in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian security prisoner in their custody, police said Thursday.

Thaer Abu Assab was found with “severe signs of violence" on his body, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, an advocacy group. He died on Nov. 18 at the Ketziot prison in the southern Negev Desert. Abu Assab was arrested in 2005 and was serving a 25-years sentence for attempted murder.

The Prisoners' Club demanded an investigation, including an autopsy. Police originally told the group that it was difficult to identify the guards involved due to their helmets.

Police announced the investigation of the guards Thursday, after a gag order expired. The Israel Prison Service said it was cooperating.

The Prisoners' Club says about 7,800 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. Hundreds were rounded up since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by a deadly attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel.

Rights activists say the number of so-called administrative detainees, who are people held without trial or charges, is a record high.

FILE - A man smiles as he is welcomed after being released from prison by Israel, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The release of Palestinian prisoners under the Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement last week has touched nearly everyone in the occupied West Bank, where 750,000 Palestinians have been arrested since 1967. In negotiations with Israel to free hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza, the militant group has pushed for the release of high-profile prisoners. But experts say most Palestinians passing through Israel’s ever-revolving prison door are young men arrested in the middle of the night for throwing stones and firebombs in villages near Israeli settlements. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

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