According to the PNN, it is an incorrect assumption that the pain of prison ends after being released. For Palestinians, not only the psychological pain continues, but the physical pain and suffering stays as well. The story of released prisoner Anas Mahmoud JudAllah from Nablus, age 26, who was imprisoned for two years under ‘administrative detention’, serves as proof of this.
Palestinian prisoners suffer from severe health issues which require immediate medical intervention, the Palestinian News Network (PNN) reports.
In return, the Israeli Prisons Service (IPS) gives not the slightest concern for the pain and despair of detainees. The neglect of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli authorities, in this regard, has exacerbated their health issues in time, with the number of ill prisoners for this year alone reaching some 1,400.
This is not to even mention the unethical force-feeding continually being administered prisoners against their will, with the aim of avoiding criticism should they die as a result of engaging in hunger strike protest.
Anas’ story begins on 22/11/2012, just 40 days after his wedding.
Though he was arrested twice before, the last arrest was the cruelest he had ever gone through, according to the PNN, let alone the fact that Anas’ mother, Su’ad Hassan Snoubar JudAllah, was assassinated three months after her other son, Ahmad JudAllah, was murdered on 30/9/2003.
The Last Imprisonment and Repeated Injections:
During his latest incarceration, Anas commited himself to two hunger strikes, the first in protest of Israeli prison conditions; the second involved a group hunger strike which lasted for two months, and resonated in the media both locally and internationally.
During the strike, also known as the ‘Dignity Strike’, Anas’ health deteriorated as did that of many of his comrades and, so, he was taken to Poria hospital in occupied Tiberias, for 30 days of medical observation which included forced injections of nutritious injections.
For every day during his stay at Poria, Anas was injected with glucose units. In time, and as his strike continued, Anas’ veins petered out and became weaker as a result of fatigue and the fragility associated with such radical protest.
See: More Than 30 Days Of Hunger Strike, And Their Battle Continues
Anas told the Ahrar Center for Prisoner Studies about his painful experience in the hospital, stating that “every time the doctor wanted to inject my left hand, he had to try four times in order to succeed and reach the hidden vein” which caused terrible issues with his left hand.
Upon his release, Anas went to the medical centers of Nablus for post-strike/imprisonment checkups and was struck by the fact that his left hand needed surgical operation.
He said that, according to medical views, his hand needed surgery to the tendons in case the needles had hit them during feeding injections. In the case that needles had reached the bone, Anas needed the removal of calcium caused by repeated injections.
Anas is now seeking to obtain health insurance from the Prisoner Affairs Committee, and other Palestinian officials, in order to cover operation expenses for the completion of medical procedures.
Deliberate Medical Neglect in Prisons:
In his statement to the Ahrar center, Anas assured that IPS purposefully neglects prisoners in need of medical attention, and in a way which all prisoners notice. This form of neglect was displayed when he had an ear infection, and IPS failed to allow him a doctor’s visit until after he was 3 months into his sickness. Other than this, Anas suffered from swelling in the right part of his body, but was not allowed to be examined or give samples for analysis.
Prisoners Call for Help:
Anas said that detainees behind Israeli prison bars still suffer from both miserable living and health conditions, and are still facing ongoing medical neglect by prison administration, not to be allowed even the least required care.
See IMEMC Special Report: “800,000 Palestinians Imprisoned By Israel Since 1967”