Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner, Kamal Abu Wa’er, 46, died today in Israeli jails following a severe deterioration in his health due to medical negligence, Palestinian media reported.
According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), Abu Wa’er suffered from throat cancer.
He was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to multiple life sentences for resisting the occupation.
Abu Wa’er was the first Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention to have tested positive for the highly contagious virus.
Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Commission in the Palestinian Authority accused the occupation of killing the captive Kamal Abu Wa’er by leaving him prey to cancer.
He held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for the death of Abu Wa’er, slamming his death as a premeditated crime committed by the Israeli prison service, which was fully aware of the seriousness of his health condition and refused to release him despite many calls made for his immediate release.
He stressed that this crime demonstrates the failure of the international community and its institutions to hold Israel accountable, warning that the continued silence on these practices will encourage the Israeli occupation to continue perpetrating crimes against Palestinians.
The death of Abu We’ar brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails since 1967 to 226.
