Freed detainee, Naim Shawamra, was moved to a hospital in Jordan after Israeli authorities finally granted the approval, following extended delays, Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank said.Palestinian Minister of Detainee, Issa Qaraqe’, stated that Israel and its security devices acted in an ugly and immoral manner by continuously delaying its approval to allow Shawamra be transferred to Jordan, by ambulance, to receive urgently needed medical treatment.
He said that the Palestinian side kept contacting the Israeli authorities for them to allow the transfer of Shawamra and, after an extend wait, Israel granted the approval on Sunday at 10 P.M.
“Once Shawamra reached the border terminal, Israel ordered him back and said he is not allowed to cross. This happened despite an official approval from the Israeli security”, Qaraqe’ said. “Shawamra was then moved to the Jericho hospital, waiting for another approval that was only granted on Monday morning, January 6, 2014.”
It is worth mentioning that president Mahmoud Abbas instructed the Palestinian Authority and its Ministry of Health to do whatever they can to move Shawamra to any hospital that can provide the specialized treatment he needs.
Abbas personally followed the issue until the released detainee managed to cross the border terminal, into Jordan.
Shawamra was recently released as part of the third phase of releasing veteran political prisoners, held by Israel since before the first Oslo Agreement.
He spent 19 years in Israeli prisons where he fell ill, and his condition witnessed a serious deterioration due to the lack of professional medical treatment in prison.
