Israeli medical negligence has killed 73 Palestinian prisoners since occupation: NGO

At least 73 Palestinian prisoners have lost their lives due to medical negligence during detentions in Israeli prisons since 1967, the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PCC) has revealed.

The NGO said the 73 prisoners who succumbed to their deaths due to the negligence are among the 231 Palestinian prisoners who have died while in detention, the last of whom being Saadia Farajallah, who died in detention in Damon Prison in early July.

#نادي_الأسير: 73 أسيرًا اُستشهدوا في سجون الاحتلال منذ عام 1967 نتيجة لسياسة الإهمال الطبي (القتل البطيء). pic.twitter.com/ZkpA4d2Ewi

— نادي الأسير Prisoner’s society (@PpsmoMedia) September 10, 2022

Farajallah, who was among the oldest prisoners in the Israeli jail, suffered from chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The PCC said that Israel continues to hold the bodies of nine prisoners who have died or were killed during their detention.

The group added that sick prisoners have witnessed worsening conditions over the past few years as medical negligence has increased, along with torture, which has been the biggest cause of death for most Palestinian prisoners held across Israeli jails.

The group pointed out that about 600 ill prisoners in Israeli prisons are currently facing difficult health conditions, including about 200 suffering from chronic diseases, and 23 with tumors and cancers of various degrees.

They added that the most severe impacted prisoner is Nasser Abu Hamid, who has lung cancer and is currently serving a life sentence, and faces the risk of death "at any moment" despite medical reports calling for his release.

The PPC accused Israeli prisons of deliberately delaying the transfer of sick prisoners to hospitals and conducting medical examinations for them, noting that six cases of cancer were recorded among the prisoners during the period from August 2021 and last June.

Currently, there are about 18 sick and wounded prisoners are currently detained in abysmal conditions inside Ramla prison, according to the group.

Israel continues to hold around 4,500 Palestinian political prisoners, 650 of whom are "administrative detainees," meaning they are held without charges or trial for up to six months at a time which can be renewed for an indefinite period.

Rights group deem the practice abusive, particularly towards children, who are often held on suspicion of throwing stones.