Detainees families hold a protest in front of the Red Cross office in Tulkarem

Wednesday December 12, 2007 04:00 by IMEMC Staff

Hundreds of families of Palestinian detainees imprisoned by Israel held a protest in front of the Red Cross Office in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem and appealed human rights groups and the Red Cross to intervene and allow the entry of warm clothes to their detained family members.

The protesters demanded president Mahmoud Abba,  his PM Dr. Salaam Fayyad, and Minster of Detainees, Ashraf Al Ajrami, to place the issue of the detainees as a top priority in any talks with Israel, especially as the detainees are facing deteriorating conditions, repeated attacks, barred from medical treatment and are not provided decent or sufficient food.

The families carried pictures of the detained beloved ones and were accompanied by international peace activists. Mother of detainee Kamal Shalaby, who is sentenced to 25 years, stated that her son was taken prisoner five years ago and is suffering from bad health condition and problems in his ears.

She added that she was only able to visit her detained son three times and that he is currently in immediate need for medical attention and medications as he was hit by bullet fragments in his head and ear when he was arrested. His three friends were assassinated and he was injured in his head and hands and lost some of his fingers.

Mother of detainee Ayman Fuad Ghannam said that her son is suffering from Kidney failure. She stated that he had kidney transplant in Jordan in August 2001, and was in a relatively good health, but after he was kidnapped by the army in 2006 and was deprived from medical treatment, medication, and follow-up, and since then his health condition had sharply deteriorated.

He currently needs Vitamin B, an is suffering from blood and bone issues but is not being provided with any medical attention.

Meanwhile, mother of detainees Fawzi Mohammad Qa’qour, stated that her detained son is currently serving his second consecutive administrative detention without any charges or trial.

She added that she was not allowed to send clothes and medicine to him.

Mothers of detainees Lu’ay Suwwan, and Jihad Sa’ada, said that they and dozens of families of detainees are deprived from visiting their detained family members since many years.

There are at least 10.000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, among them hundreds of women and children. More than 190 detainees died in Israeli prisons since 1967; most of them died of medical negligence and torture.

palestine | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org