THE Islamic Jihad Movement last Monday called for isolating the Israeli occupation government and trying its leaders for ‘crimes against humanity,’ especially by pursuing a policy of medical negligence towards prisoners in its jails.
In a statement the movement expressed its deep concern about what it described as medical negligence inside prisons, which has resulted in a prisoner recently losing his eyesight.
This is in addition to coercing prisoners, storming their cells, and conducting body searches and searches of their personal belongings at night.
The movement describes these actions as organised crime against prisoners and a consecration of hatred towards the Palestinian people.
The movement noted that this policy caused the martyrdom of prisoner Jamal al-Sarahin as a result of deliberate medical negligence.
Moreover, one week ago a prisoner lost the sight of one eye, and prisoner Bashar Sulayhat from Nablus serving a 13-year sentence was transferred to Al-Ramlah prison hospital because his health condition deteriorated.
There have been reports that Sulayhat is in a state of clinical death.
This is in addition to dozens of reports daily on the suffering and torture that sick male and female prisoners are facing as a result of the policy of medical negligence that subjects prisoners to slow death.
The movement urged all forces to rally around the priorities of the resistance, to not recognise Israel in light of its policies, and to activate Arab and Islamic action in a bid to exert pressure so as to isolate the occupation state on the regional and international levels, strengthen the steadfastness of the people, and support the resistance.
The movement added: ‘The targeting of prisoners in the occupation’s jails is a Zionist violation of the law and a belittlement of the international community and of agreements that safeguard human freedom and dignity.’
The movement urged all organisations that are concerned with protecting and safeguarding human rights to shoulder their responsibilities and carry out their duty so as to expose the Israeli crimes.
Moreover, it urged the Palestinian people, their national and Islamic forces, all popular and official organisations, and civil society institutions to launch campaigns of solidarity inside and outside the occupied territories, to revive the issue of prisoners in the occupation’s jails and organise comprehensive activities to champion them.
Deputy Isa Qaraqi, rapporteur of the Prisoners’ Committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said on Monday that there has been an unprecedented increase in the incidents of malignant diseases, particularly cancer, in the Israeli occupation’s jails.
In a statement Qaraqi said that prisoner Bashar Sulayhat from Nablus is in a state of clinical death and that prisoner Salim al-Sha’ir from Gaza has contracted lung cancer; thus, the number of prisoners who have been diagnosed with cancer in the past years has increased to 25 Palestinian prisoners.
Qaraqi noted that the acute deterioration in the health conditions of prisoners requires an investigation by an international committee and immediate intervention by the World Health Organisation to examine the prisoners’ medical issues and the prisons’ authorities’ practices that violate the most fundamental international and human norms with regard to providing medical treatment to prisoners and providing suitable living conditions.
Qaraqi added: ‘The extensive violation of the rights of prisoners poses a serious threat to their lives.
‘Hence, the medicines that are being provided to the prisoners must be tested, and surgical operations must be immediately carried out on those who need them.
‘Moreover, pressure must be exerted to ensure daily medical tests for the sick prisoners, and to provide specialised doctors and suitable clinics.’
Moreover, Qaraqi said that the detention centres that lack suitable medical conditions aggravate the prisoners’ medical conditions.
He noted that detention camps and jails lack the most fundamental human requirements, because they are infested with insects, their air is polluted, and there are not enough detergents for cleaning.
This is in addition to the psychological pressure to which the prisoners are subjected.
On the other hand, Qaraqi urged the Palestinian Government to immediately cover the costs of a kidney transplant for Palestinian prisoner Ahmad al-Tamimi who is suffering from renal failure, and has spent more than 23 years in Israeli jails and remains permanently at Al-Ramlah Hospital.
He noted that the prisons’ authority has finally agreed to allow the prisoner to have a kidney transplant on condition that it is fully paid for.
Prisoner Al-Tamimi has been in a very difficult medical situation for many years.
During his visit to Hawarah detention centre, the lawyer of the Nafha organisation for defending human rights and the rights of prisoners, said that prisoners undergo immense suffering due to the shortage of food and its bad quality.
The lawyer met with several prisoners and inquired about their living conditions.
In the report he presented to the organisation’s media centre, he said that the prisoners are suffering from medical negligence such that they were not provided with any medical treatment apart from a capsule of Acamol after extreme suffering.
In a statement. Muhammad Bsharat, the director of Nafha organisation in the northern West Bank, urged international human rights organisations, foremost of which is the International Committee of the Red Cross, to examine the inhumane violations that are being committed against prisoners in the occupation’s jails, especially in detention centres that lack the most fundamental requirements of human life and ignore the international rights of prisoners in the occupation’s jails as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention.
