Rights Group Urge Israel To Release Palestine Prisoner Diagnosed With Cancer

A Palestinian prisoner’s rights group is calling on Israel to release Walid Daqqa from prison, saying his health is deteriorating.

Daqqa is a Palestinian writer and activist, who has been imprisoned by Israel since 1986 for killing an Israeli soldier.

He was diagnosed last year with Myelofibrosis – a rare form of bone marrow cancer that disrupts the body’s normal production of blood cells.

Addameer, a rights group that supports Palestinian prisoners, said the 61-year-old is in dire need of urgent medical attention.

The group accused Israeli authorities of denying Daqqa the treatment he was prescribed and called for his release.

In February, Daqqa also suffered a stroke that was caused by a blood clot, according to the rights group.

Israeli prison authorities regularly delay checkups and urgent surgeries for Palestinian prisoners. In 2020, four Palestinian prisoners died in Israeli custody.

In November 2021, Palestinian prisoner Sami Umour died after a delay in an urgently needed operation for heart problems.