HEBRON: A Palestinian official said Thursday the results of an autopsy prove that a Palestinian prisoner Israel said had committed suicide actually died of a blow to the head.

“We deny it was suicide,” said Issa Qaraqe, head of the Palestinian committee for prisoners in a press conference on the fate of Raed Abdel Salam Al-Jaabari, 35. The Israel Prisons Service (IPS) had said Tuesday that Jaabari hanged himself in a bathroom at Eshel prison in southern Israel and died en route to hospital.

Qaraqe said the central cause of death was “a strong blow to the head” that resulted in internal bleeding.

“We blame Israel,” he said, while warning of legal action against the Jewish state.