The family of ailing political prisoner Walid Daqqah stated that his wife and daughter, Milad, were able to visit him at the “Barzilai” Israeli hospital in Ashkelon, where he underwent surgery to remove part of his right lung on April 12th and remains in a serious but stable condition.
In a statement Thursday, the family said that, after more than two weeks of delays, the Israeli authorities allowed them to visit with Walid, who is still in slow recovery from the recent surgery.
They said the detainee is suffering from difficulty speaking, needs ongoing medical monitoring and care, and added that he suffers constant fatigue and serious weight loss.
On April 18, his wife Sana Salama said he underwent a complicated surgery that lasted for five hours, and added that the doctors are optimistic, but he still requires constant care.
Sana stated that she visited with him along with their daughter Milad and said that he spoke with his daughter despite his pain and weakness, while he was cuffed and shackled to his hospital bed.
The Daqqah family, from Baqa al-Gharbiyya in the Triangle Region southeast of Haifa, appealed to the Palestinian people and leaderships, political and human rights organizations, and supporters of freedom causes around the world to support their campaign to achieve their only demand, ensuring his immediate release so that he can receive treatment without restrictions.
They explained that they have taken legal steps in this direction to overturn the unjust additional sentence of two years that was added to the original sentence of 37 years, which ended on March 24, 2023.
It is worth mentioning that Walid was admitted to Barzilai medical center on March 23 after his health seriously deteriorated following his diagnosis with myelofibrosis, a rare cancer that affects bone marrow, on December 18th, 2022. In the year 2015, the detainee was diagnosed with Leukemia but was not provided with the needed specialized care.
Despite his condition, Israel intends to transfer him to the infamous Ramla Prison Clinic which lacks specialists and basic equipment and is not suitable for his recovery.
It is worth mentioning that in 1999, Daqqah got married while in prison; he and his wife welcomed a daughter Milad, in 2020, conceived after his sperm was smuggled out of prison.
