As the Israeli occupation carries out a systematic policy of medical negligence against the Palestinian prisoners, some of them developed chronic diseases, including Nasser Abu Hamid, who has been suffering from lung cancer for a year.
Abu Hamid, a 49-year-old from al-Am’ari refugee camp in Ramallah, has been in jail since 2002, serving seven life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison. He has four brothers in jail who are also serving life sentences.
His brother Mohamed confirmed that he has not received any chemotherapy sessions nor has a treatment plan made for him, saying “A person who is sick with cancer requires intensive medical care, monitoring and follow-up by doctors, and to have a treatment plan of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”
He explained, “The treatment given to Nasser is very random, and there was a delay in diagnosing the tumour. He underwent a wrong surgery based on a wrong diagnosis to remove an inflammatory tumour, and then it turned out to be a malignant tumour.
Mohamed continued: “As a result of this wrong operation his health was seriously affected, especially after the prison administration refused to keep him under observation and medical care in the civil hospital, and returned him to normal prison rooms that are unhealthy”.
He stressed that Nasser’s health condition is getting worse day by day, and he became very weak, unable to move, started to lose sensation in his limbs and breathing through an oxygen tube, and is only provided with painkillers for his serious disease.
He added that “Cancerous cells have spread all over his brother’s body, including the head and bones, and according to the doctor treating him she said that there is no treatment that a person must be accompanying him, and she recommended releasing him, so he spends his last days with his family.”
The number of sick prisoners in the occupation prisons is about 600, with various diseases, and they need follow-up and urgent health care. Among them, there are 23 prisoners suffering from cancer and tumours of varying degrees.
