Israeli soldiers raided early this morning the family home of a Palestinian who recently died from cancer while in Israeli custody, ransacked it and detained his brother, according to family members.

The soldiers raided the home of the deceased prisoner, Sami Abu Diyak, in Silat al-Dahr village in the north of the West Bank, thoroughly searched it and ransacked it while holding the entire family hostage in one room after interrogating them, said Ragheb Abu Diyak, a family member.

He told WAFA the soldiers also detained Abu Diyak’s brother, Salah, without giving any reason for the raid of the home of the bereaved family or the arrest of Salah.

Abu Diyak, 36, died in prison of cancer on November 26. He was arrested on 17 July, 2002 for resisting the Israeli occupation and was sentenced to three life prison terms of which he spent 17 years behind bars before his death. He was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in September 2015. Palestinians attribute his death to medical negligence while in prison.

In spite of his death from cancer, the Israeli army is stilling holding his body and refuses to release it to his family for proper burial.

Read more: Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli prison