In an urgent letter sent by the detainees to the Palestinian Prisoners
Society (PPS), the detainees in Be'er Sheva Israeli prison appealed
human rights organizations to save the life of detainee Abdul-Raouf
Mustafa Abu Atsha, 39, from Silwad.
Abu Atsha, a father of 6 children, was taken prisoner on May 17, 2004. He suffered three strokes causing paralysis that forced him to depend on a wheelchair. Yet, he also suffers ulcer and slipped disc.
The detainees wrote in their letter that the Israeli Prison Administration does not provide Abu Atsha with any medications or medical equipment, and still refuses to transfer him to Al Ramleh detention hospital.
They appealed human rights organizations and the Red Cross to interfere for the release of Abu Atsha in order to enable him receive the needed medical treatment and attention.
The detainees also called for the inclusion of Abu Atsha in any prisoner swap deal that could be struck between resistance fighters in Gaza and Israel or between the Lebanon-based Hezbollah party and Israel.
Meanwhile, Qaddoura Fares, director-general of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, stated that the health condition of Abu Atsha is very serious and requires immediate medical attention and rehabilitation.
Fares demanded the Israeli Prison Administration to transfer the detainee to an Israeli hospital, and held it responsible for any further deterioration in the health condition of Abu Atsha.
He added that there are at least 1000 detainees suffering from chronic diseases, injuries and disabilities, including detainees who lost parts of their bodies by Israeli fire, and detainees who suffer from cancer or other serious diseases, yet they are not receiving medical treatment in spite the fact that they need to be hospitalised.
Fares also called for the inclusion of Abu Atsha in any prisoner swap deal whether the deal was struck between resistance fighters in Gaza holding one Israeli soldier captive, or a deal between Hezbollah, holding two soldiers captives, and Israel.
There are at least 10000 Palestinian detainees currently imprisoned in Israeli prisoners and detention facilities. Among them 400 detainees who were arrested before the Oslo Agreement that was signed between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel on September 13, 1993.
The PPS reported that 19 Palestinian detainees were arrested more twenty years ago, 140 were arrested more than 15 years ago, 350 child detainees and 128 female detainees.
At least 1200 detainees are held under administrative detention orders without charges of trial.
Administrative detention in the Imprisonment by Israel of Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without charge or trial for a period of up to six months, renewable without limits. It is based on the ‘Law on Emergency Powers (Detention)’ adopted by the Knesset in 1979
