The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said yesterday that the Israeli prison administration practices a policy of deliberate medical negligence against a number of ill Palestinian prisoners in Ashkelon Prison.
The commission said in a statement that as many as 12 Palestinian prisoners in the jail are ill and in need of medical care.
According to the commission, prisoner Bassam Al-Na’san, 21, from Al-Mughayyir village east of Ramallah, has been waiting for an urgent operation for many months but the prison administration is delaying his medical examinations and operation.
The commission also warned of the deterioration of the health condition of prisoner Muhammad Barash, 39, from Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah.
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According to the commission, Barash suffers from severe pains and ulcers caused by shrapnel in his left foot and needs the pieces to be removed in order for an artificial limb to be fitted.
Prisoner Rami Hijazi, 38, from Gaza suffers from severe back problems and has been waiting for physiotherapy to alleviate his pains.
The commission explained that the prison administration only provides prisoners with painkillers and refuses to perform the necessary medical tests for them or even to provide an accurate diagnoses of their diseases.
The commission said the Israeli prison administration “violates all international conventions that guarantee prisoners’ rights to treatment, health and good care.”