Palestinian Diagnosed with Leukemia Post-Release from ’Israeli’ Jail

By Staff, Agencies

Two Palestinian detainees' rights groups have reported that a former Palestinian detainee, Ismail Yousef Taqatqa, who spent five months in "Israeli" prisons, has been diagnosed with leukemia just a week after his release.

The Palestinian Commission of Prisoners' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have confirmed in a joint statement that 40-year-old Taqatqa is suffering from blood cancer.

The statement added that Taqatqa, a father of four children, did not have any health problems prior to his arrest last March.

The advocacy groups noted that his health condition sharply deteriorated during detention at the notorious Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, and was subsequently transferred to Hadassah Medical Center in occupied al-Quds.

On August 29, he was discharged from Hadassah Hospital on 10,000 "Israeli" "shekels" (nearly 3,000 US dollars) and transferred to an-Najah University Hospital in Nablus.

The two Palestinian detainees’ rights groups described Taqatqa as the latest victim of the systematic medical crimes that the "Israel" Prison Service (IPS) is perpetrating against Palestinian detainees.

The groups held the "IPS" fully responsible for the critical health situation facing Taqatqa and for the fate of thousands of detainees who face systematic abuses.

They said that these "Israeli" measures are aimed at killing Palestinian detainees or causing them chronic and serious health problems that are difficult to treat later.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express outrage at their illegal detention.

"Israel" keeps Palestinian detainees under deplorable conditions without proper hygienic standards. Palestinian detainees have also been subject to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.

The Palestine Detainees Studies Center reports that 60% of Palestinian detainees in "Israeli" jails suffer from chronic diseases, with some dying during detention or after release.