Al-Jirjawi told the Palestine Chronicle that his goal is to send a message that everyone should have the right to free movement, especially cancer patients.
Iyad al-Jirjawi is a 37-year-old former Palestinian prisoner and cancer patient who now lives in the besieged Gaza Strip.
A few days ago, he decided to set up a tent in front of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City. Then he launched an open hunger strike to protest the Israeli decision to prevent him from traveling abroad and receiving proper treatment.
Al-Jirjawi told the Palestine Chronicle that his goal is to send a message that everyone should have the right to free movement, especially cancer patients.
The former prisoner also revealed that he had suffered medical negligence inside Israeli prisons. Now that he is ‘free’ and living in besieged Gaza, his suffering has carried on.
“I was released from (Israeli) occupation prisons in 2020, after 9 years,” of imprisonment, Al-Jirjawi told The Palestine Chronicle.
“After a long struggle, I was able to travel to Jordan to receive the necessary treatment for cancer, and I stayed there for four months.”
After consulting with his doctors, Al-Jirjawi decided to return to the Gaza Strip to see his family.
“I had not seen my family since my release, which happened when the coronavirus pandemic restrictions were still in place,” he told us.
After a short period after his return to Gaza, Al-Jirjawi tried to leave the Strip to receive treatment. He paid $200 to obtain the necessary papers, but he was sent back by the Egyptian authorities at the Rafah crossing. He was not given any reason.
He tried a second time. This time he was asked to pay $500 dollars, an exorbitant amount of money in impoverished Gaza. Still, he was denied entry.
Having no other option, the man is now camping in front of the Red Cross office, hoping that someone could hear his pleas.
Al-Jirjawi was born in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and now lives in the city of Khan Yunis.
He was arrested by the Israeli authorities in 2011 at a military checkpoint. At the time he was returning home, via Israel, where he was receiving cancer treatment.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
