Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner, Kamal Abu Wa’ar, 46, died today in Israeli jails following a severe deterioration in his health due to medical negligence.
Abu Wa’ar, from Jenin’s town of Qabatiya, suffered from throat cancer. He was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to multiple life sentences for resisting the occupation.
Gazans Rally for the Release of Palestinian Prisoner with Cancer and COVID-19 – https://t.co/i7OzXD4mtc #Palestine pic.twitter.com/PNH1l4UscM
— al whit (@soitiz) July 14, 2020
Abu Wa’ar was the first Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention to have tested positive for the highly contagious COVID-19 last July.
Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Commission in the Palestinian Authority, held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for the death of Abu Wa’ar, slamming his death as a premeditated crime committed by the Israeli prison service, which was fully aware of the seriousness of his health condition and refused to release him despite many calls made for his immediate release.
#Palestinian Detainee Tested Positive for #Coronavirus in #Israeli Prison https://t.co/yjJtyPEX6S via @PalestineChron #PalestineNews pic.twitter.com/qvMRSSQ7gO
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) July 13, 2020
Abu Bakr stressed that this crime demonstrates the failure of the international community and its institutions to hold Israel accountable, warning that the continued silence on these practices will encourage the Israeli occupation to continue perpetrating crimes against Palestinians.
The death of Abu Wa’ar brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails since 1967 to 226.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
RIP to this guy. Jails must be very strict in implementing health protocols. Prisoners are one of those people who has a high chance to get infected because of the distancing.