Palestinian dies due to medical negligence he faced in Israeli prisons

Palestinian prisoners advocacy groups have confirmed the death of former prisoner Ismail Taqatqa five months after his release, due to systematic medical negligence in Israeli prisons.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society confirmed that Taqatqa passed away on Wednesday morning in Jordan.

Taqatqa, who hailed from the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, had no prior health issues before his arrest in March 2024. Upon his release on August 29, 2024, Taqatqa was diagnosed with leukemia, a result of systematic medical negligence during his detention.

His condition deteriorated rapidly while in Ofer Prison, leading to his transfer to Hadassah Hospital where it became clear that he needed a bone marrow transplant.

They then proceeded to release him from custody while he was hospitalized, on certain conditions.

The delay and obstructions imposed by the occupying regime contributed to his worsening health and eventual death.

The commission and the society highlighted that Taqatqa’s case raises significant and ongoing questions about the fate of thousands of detainees in Israeli prisons.

The rights groups stated that Taqatqa is the latest known victim of the systematic medical crimes perpetrated by the Israeli prison system against thousands of prisoners who have been subjected to unprecedented systematic torture since the beginning of Israeli aggression in Gaza. 

Medical crimes and denial of treatment have been the primary tools for executing systematic killings of dozens of prisoners since the Israeli war began in Gaza. 

These crimes include imposing harsh detention conditions, torturing and assaulting prisoners, deliberately causing illnesses by denying them treatment and healthcare, starving them, and turning their need for treatment into a tool of torture.

The majority of Palestinians being released suffer from some kind of health problem.

Some even emerged with chronic diseases that they did not have before their arrest. This is based on medical examinations they underwent post-release and their testimonies. 

This comes as the Palestinian advocacy groups have reported an alarming surge in the number of Palestinians abducted by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Thousands had been “forcibly disappeared” from the blockaded region over the past few months.

Advocacy groups report alarming surge in number of Gazans abducted by Israel

The Palestinian prisoners advocacy groups have reported an alarming surge in the number of people abducted by Israel.

Israel refuses to disclose the number of Palestinian abductees from Gaza.

Physical torture has become a regular daily practice without exception, targeting all detainees, whether minors, the sick, or the elderly.

The Israeli brutality includes "all forms of physical and psychological torture, medical crimes, starvation, and sexual assault." 

‘Slow death’: Palestinian testimonies reveal horrific abuses in Israeli prisons

New “shocking” testimonies from Palestinian detainees have revealed the “systematic torture and abuse” against Gazans held in Israel’s Naqab prison, amid the regime’s ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli arrest campaign across the occupied West Bank has also pushed the total number of Palestinians abducted since October 2023 to over 11,700.

A series of recent reports detailed “detention campaigns carried out since October 7, 2023” involving “humiliation, brutal beatings, threats against detainees and their families,” as well as the destruction of detainees’ houses and the looting of their property.

Israel continues to prevent international organizations, including the Red Cross, from visiting the prisons, detention centers camps and interrogation facilities.

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