Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner in critical condition, slips into coma

A Palestinian rights group has warned against the deteriorating health condition of a Palestinian prisoner who is suffering from cancer and is believed to be facing death, saying that he has lapsed into a deep coma.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said in a statement on Sunday evening that the 49-year-old inmate, identified as Nasser Abu Hmaid, is in a fairly critical condition, and doctors are giving him large doses of painkillers in an attempt to control his pain. This has put him in a deep coma.

Abu Hmaid is also suffering from severe shortness of breath and he is connected to a nasal cannula all the time.

His brother said Nasser has completely lost the ability to eat food, drink water and even swallow medicines, and that doctors are currently feeding him and injecting medicine into his body through a vein. A urine drainage bag is also connected to him all the time because he cannot go to the bathroom.

Abu Hmeid has been battling death for several months in the Israeli Ramla Prison Clinic, and his health has been deteriorating amid a wide spread of cancerous cells throughout his body, with complete damage to his left lung.

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He hails from the al-Amari refugee camp in the occupied central West Bank city of Ramallah. He has been imprisoned since 2002 and was sentenced to life after an Israeli court found him guilty of participating in attacks during the Second Palestinian Intifada (uprising).

Abu Hmaid was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2021 after Israeli authorities delayed the provision of medical examinations and treatment, according to prisoner groups.

Last August, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said that a tumor had been detected in Abu Hmaid’s head as a result of the Israeli Prisoner Service’s failure to deal with his health condition at an earlier stage.

His family has appealed to all concerned international bodies to take urgent and effective action to save the life of their son. They have urged all Palestinians to continue their popular support for Abu Hmaid and force the occupying Israeli regime to release him as he is facing an imminent risk of death.

Rights groups have urged all advocates to urgently intervene and pressure the Israeli regime to release him.

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There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails. Human rights organizations say Israel violates all the rights and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israeli jail authorities keep Palestinian prisoners under deplorable conditions without proper hygienic standards. Palestinian inmates have also been subject to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.

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