Israel Arrests Critically Ill Palestinian

A Palestinian man with a life-threatening medical condition was arrested by Israeli soldiers to serve a year in jail, his family said.

Nidal Abu Aahour, 45, suffers from kidney failure and cancer. He breathes through an oxygen tank. Despite this, he was imprisoned in October.

His family told Anadolu Agency they fear for his life and called on international rights groups to demand his release.

The prisoner from Bethlehem city was released on bail in July due to his deteriorating health, but he was re-arrested.

His daughter, Nidaa said that all family members are prohibited from visiting him, talking to him, and checking on his health.

"Israel is preventing us from seeing him, or contacting him even on the phone," she said. "My request is that he be released."

His brother, Issa Abu Ahour, said that the family, comprising his wife, five daughters and son, live in constant anxiety.

He added: "His health is very bad. When we he was released for the first time, we paid a bail of 12,000 shekels [about $ 3500], and we transferred him to intensive care in a hospital in Bethlehem where he remained unconscious for five days."

Arrested with oxygen tank

"Nidal suffers from cancer and kidney failure. We were sitting with him in the porch when the occupation soldiers entered the house while he was attached to an oxygen cylinder. They carried him and the oxygen cylinder on a stretcher and took him to the detention vehicle," he said.

He said he was taken to the Ramla Prison and their only source to know about his condition is reports of lawyers.

When the occupation forces released the prisoner last July, he was immediately transferred to the dialysis department at the Beit Jala Governmental Hospital.

While speaking about the condition of sick prisoners, he broke into tears.

Alarming situation

Munqith Abu Atwan, head of Prisoners Affairs Authority in Bethlehem, said Nidal is in a "very dangerous situation."

He pointed out that the Prisoners and Executives Authority submitted several petitions to "the so-called Israeli High Court of Justice in order to release him and provide him with the necessary treatment, but unfortunately, they rejected."

The Palestinian official held the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the prisoner's life, "especially since he passed through very critical stages, and the necessary and appropriate treatment was not provided to him."

He said: "The occupation authorities want to get rid of him by creating an environment where his disease is exacerbated."

"We do not trust the medical services that the occupation government provides to our prisoners," the official said.

Moreover, he accused the occupation authorities of "testing medical drugs, which have nothing to do with the prisoners' disease, which leads to their killing."

In November, the head of the Prisoners and Executives Affairs Authority, Qadri Abu Bakr, revealed that the authority had requested the World Health Organization to visit 40 sick detainees in Israeli prisons.

According to the commission, 700 Palestinian detainees suffer from various diseases, 40 of whom suffer from severe diseases such as cancer and kidney failure.

Israel is holding about 4,400 Palestinian prisoners, including 40 women, in its prisons, while the number of child detainees is about 170, and administrative detainees (held without charge) are about 380, according to official Palestinian data.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat -