Palestinian activists protest inside ICRC West Bank office

Palestinian activists shut down the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday for several hours to protest the severe medical condition of Palestinian prisoner Samer Al-Arbid "due to torture."

One of the protest organizer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the protest started from Tuesday afternoon and continued as an indoor sit in, where a dozen of activists entered the offices of the ICRC and stayed overnight.

They highlighted that Al-Arbid, 44, who was arrested by Israeli forces last Saturday and has been in a critical condition in an Israeli hospital due to "torture during interrogation."

Palestinian human rights organizations handed a letter to the ICRC, demanding it to uphold its responsibilities to save the lives of Palestinian prisoners and pressure Israel to stop its measures against them.

Al-Arbid is accused by Israel of planning an attack which killed a 17-year-old Israeli settler and injured three others near Ramallah in August.

His attorneys said that he was healthy when he was arrested, but the authorities notified them that he had been transferred to the hospital without specifying the reasons.

Israeli public radio reported that Israel's Shin Bet security service had used "exceptional measures" during Al-Arbid's interrogation, which is a case allowing physical torture under a court approval in cases that the Israeli authorities consider highly dangerous.

Palestinian Prisoners Association say that such measures are "illegal and systematic torture of Palestinian Prisoners," adding that a total of 73 Palestinians have died in custody inside Israeli jails since 1967.