BETHLEHEM, (PIC)
The Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said in a statement issued on Thursday that the final medical examinations of ex-prisoner Ismail Yousef Taqatqa, 40, confirmed that he had leukemia only a week after his release from the Israeli prisons after spending five months behind bars.
The statement said that Taqatqa, a father of four children, did not suffer from any health problems before his arrest in March 2023.
During his detention in Ofer Prison, his health condition deteriorated, which led to his transfer to Hadassah Hospital in Israel.
He was then released on August 29, 2024 from Hadassah Hospital, on a bail of 10,000 shekels, and was immediately transferred to An-Najah University Hospital, where he underwent a series of medical tests that confirmed that he had leukemia.
Taqatqa is a new victim of the medical crimes carried out by the Israeli prison administration against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, in addition to a series of systematic crimes that escalated after October 7, most notably torture and starvation, the statement reads.
The statement held the Israeli prison administration fully responsible for the serious health situation facing Taqatqa, and for the fate of thousands of prisoners who face systematic abuses aimed at killing them, or causing them chronic and serious health problems that are difficult to treat later.
