PA Minister Karake: Israel deliberately neglects sick prisoners and has adopted a “policy of slow death”
Headline: "Sick prisoners: Death for Allah (Shahada) is more merciful than imprisonment and medical negligence – released prisoner Alaa Hassouneh conveys letter to Karake, addressed to the President [Abbas] and the Palestinian people"
"Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, Issa Karake, visited the home of released prisoner Alaa A-Din Hassouneh (32), a resident of Hebron who served eight years in the occupation's (i.e., Israel’s) prisons. He served his time in the Ramle prison hospital, since he suffered from a heart disease… [Minister] Karake said… that the situation of ill prisoners has become unbearable, because of the deterioration of their physical conditions and the policy of deliberate medical negligence adopted by the [Israeli] Prison Service. Karake said that a policy of slow death is being implemented against the prisoners. He demanded their immediate release and the dispatch of international commissions of inquiry to look into the deterioration of the medical conditions in the prisons.”
Excerpt of the letter conveyed by the released prisoner to Karake, addressed to President Mahmoud Abbas and all factions of the Palestinian people:
“’We say that we do not fear death, otherwise we would not have confronted it time and time again as we chose the path of struggle for the liberation of our land and our people. What we do fear is that we will not breathe our last breath surrounded by our loved ones, our families and our people. We appeal to you… out of an understanding and appreciation for all your efforts and struggles to place the cause of the prisoners – especially the sick and the veterans among them – at the top of your agenda, and for the President [Abbas] having highlighted this cause from the podium of the UN General Assembly… [and] for the efforts being made by the Minister of Prisoners' Affairs to bring our cause to the front – or, more precisely, his insistence on our release as a condition for renewing any talks with the enemy of humanity, usurper of rights and desecrator of the holy places.'"
"Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, Issa Karake, visited the home of released prisoner Alaa A-Din Hassouneh (32), a resident of Hebron who served eight years in the occupation's (i.e., Israel’s) prisons. He served his time in the Ramle prison hospital, since he suffered from a heart disease… [Minister] Karake said… that the situation of ill prisoners has become unbearable, because of the deterioration of their physical conditions and the policy of deliberate medical negligence adopted by the [Israeli] Prison Service. Karake said that a policy of slow death is being implemented against the prisoners. He demanded their immediate release and the dispatch of international commissions of inquiry to look into the deterioration of the medical conditions in the prisons.”
Excerpt of the letter conveyed by the released prisoner to Karake, addressed to President Mahmoud Abbas and all factions of the Palestinian people:
“’We say that we do not fear death, otherwise we would not have confronted it time and time again as we chose the path of struggle for the liberation of our land and our people. What we do fear is that we will not breathe our last breath surrounded by our loved ones, our families and our people. We appeal to you… out of an understanding and appreciation for all your efforts and struggles to place the cause of the prisoners – especially the sick and the veterans among them – at the top of your agenda, and for the President [Abbas] having highlighted this cause from the podium of the UN General Assembly… [and] for the efforts being made by the Minister of Prisoners' Affairs to bring our cause to the front – or, more precisely, his insistence on our release as a condition for renewing any talks with the enemy of humanity, usurper of rights and desecrator of the holy places.'"