Critically-ill Palestinian detainee in Israeli prison requires urgent medical care, watchdog says

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and ex-Detainees’ Affairs on Saturday warned of serious health condition of cancer-stricken and critically-ill Palestinian detainee in Israeli prison, Naser Abu Hmeid, stressing that he requires urgent medical care.

The Commission said in a statement that the health condition of Abu Hmeid is still serious as he was using a wheelchair as he could not stand on his own feet and move around.

The Commission added that Abu Hamid suffers from severe fatigue as well, and is in desperate need of medical follow-up.

The Commission’s lawyer, Karim Ajwa, who managed to visit Abu Hmeid at the Ramla prison clinic last Wednesday, noted that Abu Hmeid suffers from a serious deterioration in his health condition, and that he has difficulties in moving around.

He also said that Abu Hmeid suffers from memory loss and severe weight loss and added that he was only given painkillers despite his serious health condition.

He also said that Abu Hmeid urinates by using a urinary catheter and a portable oxygen cylinder is kept with him as he suffers from respiratory difficulties.

He can hardly move his hands and feet and even his voice has changed, the lawyer added.

The lawyer said that an appeal has been submitted on Sunday to an Israeli Court to release Abu Hmeid to continue his medical treatment outside the prisons.

The Commission said that the occupation authorities also rejected the transfer of Abu Hemid to a civil hospital despite his critical health condition.

In January, the Israeli occupation authorities moved Abu Hmeid from the Israeli Barzilai hospital to the Ramla prison clinic.

The Commission said such a move puts Abu Hmeid’s life at high risk of death as the infamous Ramla Prison Clinic lacks specialists and adequate medical supplies and Abu Hmeid urgently needs medical follow-up.

The Commission added that the move clearly aims to execute the critically-ill detainee, urging for the “immediate release of Naser.”

The Commission said that the Israeli occupation authorities also continue to prevent Abu Hmeid’s family, including his mother, from visiting him under flimsy pretexts.

Abu Hmeid’s brother also said the Israel Prison Services (IPS) prevented everyone from visiting Naser, including the family members, the Red Cross, or even political officials.

The Commission added that there have been continued efforts to pressure the occupation state to transfer him for medical treatment to Jordan or Egypt.

The Commission also noted that it had submitted an appeal three weeks ago for the Israeli prison administration for the immediate release of Abu Hmeid due to his serious condition.

Abu Hmeid has been in a coma since January 4, and he was transferred to the Israeli Barzilai hospital following a deterioration in his health.

The Commission added that Abu Hmeid has been put on a ventilator and suffers from a serious inflammation on the lungs.

Several Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups had previously said that Abu Hmeid’s health condition was concerning as he had severe pain in the left part of his chest in addition to breathing difficulties.

In August 2021, a cancerous tumour was detected in his lungs. Israeli prison services stalled his treatment, causing his health to decline, according to the groups.

After a series of protests organised by Palestinian detainees in Ashkelon prison, where he was being held, Naser was then transferred to the city’s Barzilai hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove his tumour.

However, the prison administration transferred him back to jail before he recovered, the groups said.

He was the victim of a medical mistake during the implantation of a tube to empty the air from his lungs, causing the latest health complications, including a severe rise in his temperature.

Despite the proximity of Ashkelon prison to Barzilai hospital, the prison administration delayed transferring him again until after his health deteriorated significantly.

According to the Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups, Israeli occupation authorities have also refused to reveal details of his condition.

Nearly a month ago, his family was finally allowed to visit their son while he was held in the Barzilai hospital. At the order of the Israeli occupation authorities, the visit lasted for 10 minutes, and they were not allowed to closely see him, under the pretext of the COVID-19 restrictions.

However, the family insisted on checking up on him. After a long time of procrastination, they were allowed to meet the doctor who told the family that Naser is currently in a coma due to acute respiratory infections caused and developed by a bacterial infection which weakened his immune system.

49-year-old Abu Hmeid, from the Al-Amari refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to seven life sentences and 50 years in Israeli prison.

Four other brothers of Naser are in Israeli prisons: Nasr, 47, Sharif, 45, Mohammad, 38, and Islam, 35. All of them are sentenced to life. A fifth brother, Abdul Meniem, was also shot dead by Israeli occupation soldiers in 1994.

Israeli authorities also demolished the house of the family several times and their mother was denied visitation to any of her sons for several years.

The Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups said ‘Israel’ adopts a deliberate medical negligence with Palestinian prisoners as a part of its policy to weaken them.

Since 1967, 227 Palestinian prisoners have died inside the Israeli jails, 72 of them have died due to the deliberate medical negligence.

The number of Palestinian prisoners with tumours is approximately 18; four of them have been classified as cancerous and are in an advanced stage, including Abu Hmeid.

According to the Palestinian prisoner groups, the 18 are among 550 prisoners who are classified as sick in various prisons, particularly in Ramleh, Ashkelon and Beersabe’, and their numbers are rising.