Israel has accused Amnesty International of having a “disturbing obsession with glorifying sadistic murderers” after the organization mourned the death of a terrorist who died in an Israeli prison.

“The death in custody of Walid Daqqa, a 62-year-old Palestinian writer who was the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails after 38 years of imprisonment, is a cruel reminder of Israel’s disregard for Palestinians’ right to life,” Amnesty International said in a statement. 

Israelis on social media around the world — and in Israel itself — were quick to fire back that the so-called “Palestinian writer” was actually a terrorist who was serving out a sentence for torturing and murdering a 19-year-old Israeli teenager and soldier, Moshe Tamam, in 1984.

“Walid Daqqa died from cancer while serving a prison sentence for KIDNAPPING AND MURDERING 19 year old Israeli Moshe Tamam,” the state of Israel wrote on its X account. “Looking forward to your next tribute to Ted Bundy.”

“Walid Daqqah kidnapped 19-year-old Moshe Tamam and held him hostage for two days, then gouged out his eyes, castrated him, mutilated his body, and finally shot him in the chest and dumped his body,” the Israel War Room account wrote on X in response to Amnesty’s statement. “You seem to be confused about who shows disregard for the right to life.”

Amnesty says it had been calling for Daqqah’s “urgent release on humanitarian grounds” following his bone marrow cancer diagnosis in 2022 and because he “had already completed his original sentence.” The organization is calling for Israel to send the body to Daqqah’s family members so they can mourn his death. 

“Walid Daqqah’s death is a cruel reminder of Israel’s systematic medical neglect and disregard for Palestinian prisoners’ rights,” an Amnesty senior director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said in a statement, adding that Daqqah was tortured and prevented from calling his wife since October 7. 

Tamam’s niece, Ortal Tamam, told Israeli news outlets that the family was welcoming the news of the terrorist’s death, who she says inflicted “severe torture” on her uncle and throughout his life “continued to torment my family, engage in terrorism, and torment the entire nation of Israel.”

“We fought hard to prevent his early release, and the fruits of our struggle have ripened,” she said. “My uncle’s murderer died while still in prison, sick and poor. Just like the subhuman he is. This is a victory for my family and for all of Israel.”