Bethlehem Monday April 1, 2013, Palestinian Minister Of Detainees, Issa Qaraqe’, reported that the Israeli Prison Service admitted that there are 25 Palestinian detainees suffering from cancer, and are facing serious conditions.He said that Israel intends to release detainee Maisara Abu Hamdiyya, suffering from throat cancer and hospitalized at the Soroka Israeli hospital in Be’er As-Sabe’ (Beersheba), Abu Hamdiyya is in a serious health condition and was recently moved from Eshil Israeli prison to Soroka.
The Palestinian official added that President Mahmoud Abbas is personally following Abu Hamdiyya’s case, and that the president, along with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salaam Fayyad, held extensive talks with the Israeli side to secure his release.
Furthermore, Qaraqe’ said that a meeting was held at the Hadarim Israeli prison between detained Palestinian leaders and the vice head of the Israeli Prison Authority. The detainees were represented by imprisoned legislator, Fateh leader, Marwan Barghouthi, detained legislator, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Sa’adat, Abbas As-Sayyid, Nasser Abu Srour and Thabit Mardawi.
The meeting discussed the harsh living conditions of the detainees and their legitimate demands to be treated within international laws and regulations.
The detained leaders stressed on the urgency of the release of Abu Hamdiyya and all detainees who are suffering from terminal and serious illnesses as stated in previous agreements.
The detainees are also demanding Israel to end the solitary confinement policies, to close the Ramla Prison Clinic and replace it with a hospital that can provide real treatment, to stop all collective punishment policies, to allow the detainees to call their families and lawyers, and many other issues. The prison administration said that it would respond to their demands by April 15.
In related news, a report issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees revealed that the Israeli policies of medical neglect, and unsanitary conditions, has led to an increased number of detainees who are suffering from advanced and intermediate stages of cancer.
The Ministry said that 21 detainees in Eshil prisons started an open-ended hunger strike on March 31, demanding Israel to provide the ailing detainees with adequate and specialized medical attention, and to release seriously ill detainees.
The soldiers broke into section 11 in Eshil and attacked the striking detainees before cuffing them and placing them in solitary confinement.
Names and conditions of some of the detainees who are suffering from cancer;
Detainee Mo’tasem Raddad, 27, from Saida village near Tulkarem, sentenced to 25 years, is suffering from cancer in his intestines, and suffers from anemia. He complained from various symptoms after he was kidnapped in 2006 but was not sent to a doctor an issue that led to various complications, and was diagnosed with cancer at a late stage.
Detainee Amer Mohammad Bahar, 31, from Abu Dis in occupied Jerusalem, sentenced to 10 years, is suffering from intestine and colon cancer, was diagnosed two years ago but did not receive the needed treatment.
He told his lawyer, Rami Al-Alamy, that he has blood in his urine, in addition to serious infections in his colon and intestines.
When he was moved to the Soroka hospital, Israeli doctors informed him that the lack of medical treatment led to all of these complications.
He was initially moved to the Ramla clinic for seven months were he only received cortisone, and the doctor there admitted that the treatment Al-Alamy was receiving was wrong, as he needed chemotherapy that will be administered at the Soroka hospital.
Detainee Fawwaz Ba’ara, 38, from Nablus, sentenced to four life terms is suffering from brain and throat cancer. He is currently receiving chemotherapy but does not seem to be responding well to treatment.
