• Murderer explained he was “influenced” to murder Esther Horgan “by the death of a security prisoner he knew”

• PA spread libel that terrorist prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er died because of Israel’s “premeditated deliberate medical neglect”

• PA’s PM Shtayyeh blamed Israel, claiming the cause of death of the terrorist prisoner was “deliberate medical neglect”

• Fatah added: “Not medical neglect, but rather medical murder”

• Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr accused Israel “of murdering prisoner Abu Wa’er by abandoning him as prey to cancer… the medical crime… was committed premeditatedly by the [Israeli] Prison Service.”

The Palestinian terrorist who brutally murdered an Israeli mother of six, Esther Horgan, last month, told Israeli interrogators that he “decided to carry out a terrorist attack after he was influenced – inter alia – by the death of a security prisoner he knew, Kamal Abu Wa’er,” who died in prison from cancer. [Israel Security Services, Israeli Government Press Office, Jan. 4, 2021].

Israeli murder victim Esther Horgan, who was killed while out jogging.

Terrorist Kamal Abu Wa’er who was serving 6 life sentences for involvement in the murder of at least 4 Israelis, recently died of cancer in prison. Already during his illness, the PA and Fatah launched an incitement campaign citing top officials who falsely claimed Israel was denying him proper treatment and once Abu Wa’er had died, they intensified the libel that his death was caused by “deliberate medical neglect.” Apparently believing this to be true, terrorist Muhammad Kabha decided to kill an Israeli in revenge and when he “identified a Jewish woman walking alone,” he took a rock and bludgeoned her to death.

The Palestinian Authority does everything it can to demonize Israel and create hate among Palestinians. One means is the spreading of libels, and one of those libels is that Israel treats imprisoned Palestinian terrorists inhumanely. For years, the PA has purported that Israel “tortures” terrorist prisoners, gives them experimental drugs rather than try to cure their illnesses, does Nazi-like experiments on them, intentionally infects them with diseases, deliberately neglects them medically, and refrains from treating severe diseases like cancer to cause their “slow death.”

It must be stressed that the International Red Cross regularly visits the Palestinian terrorist prisoners and has never accused Israel of treating sick terrorist prisoners improperly. In June 2020 a Red Cross official told PA TV “we visited more than 90% of those who are in these [20 different] prisons.” (See full quotes below.)

The following are examples of the PA’s recent lethal incitement following the death of terrorist Abu Wa’er, and additional examples of the ongoing PA medical libel that Israel neglects all Palestinian prisoners.

PA libel that incited the recent murder: Israel’s “deliberate medical neglect” caused death of prisoner Abu Wa’er

While glorifying terrorist murderer Abu Wa’er as “a fighter and a pure-hearted son of Palestine,” PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh accused Israel’s Prison Service of being responsible for his death by “deliberate medical neglect”:

“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh… said: ‘We are consoling ourselves, our people, and Martyr [Kamal Abu Wa’er’s] family on our loss of a fighter and a pure-hearted son of Palestine, who sacrificed his freedom for the sake of the freedom of his people and his homeland.’ He added: ‘We hold the occupation responsible for Abu Wa’er’s death as a Martyr, due to the prison managements’ deliberate medical neglect of our prisoners.’”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 11, 2020]

The head of the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Qadri Abu Bakr, accused Israel of “murder… committed premeditatedly”:

“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr accused the occupation (i.e., Israel) of murdering prisoner Abu Wa’er, and this by abandoning him as prey to cancer… he added that the medical crime against Martyr prisoner Abu Wa’er is testimony to the racism and the grudge that the occupation feels, and also to its efforts to harm our prisoners in all ways.

Abu Bakr held the occupation government fully responsible for this crime, which was committed premeditatedly by the [Israeli] Prison Service that knew well the severity of prisoner Abu Wa’er’s health condition, which necessitated his immediate release.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 11, 2020]

Top PLO official Hanan Ashrawi declared that the death of Abu Wa’er is “proof” of Israel’s “various types of torture,” “barbaric and cruel treatment” and “deliberate medical neglect” of Palestinian prisoners:

“PLO Executive Committee member [and head of the PLO Department of Diplomacy and Public Policy] Hanan Ashrawi said that the death as a Martyr of cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er as a result of deliberate medical neglect is proof of the severity of the situation in the occupation’s prisons, the severity of the conditions of the Israeli detention centers, the various types of torture from which the prisoners are suffering, and the fact that they are receiving barbaric and cruel treatment from those responsible for the prisons.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 11, 2020]

Before terrorist Abu Wa’er died, Fatah posted an image of him on Facebook, stating Israel was committing “medical murder”:

Text on image: “Kamal Abu Wa’er
The heroic sick prisoner”

Posted text:“What is happening with the heroic prisoners in the occupation’s prisons is not medical neglect, but rather medical murder of the prisoners at the hands of the occupation”

[Official Fatah Facebook page, July 16, 2020]

Ironically, while alleging that Abu Wa’er was subjected to “medical neglect” during his illness, the PA at the same time admitted that he was taken from the prison to Israeli hospitals to receive cancer treatment:

“The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs explained that prisoner Abu Wa’er is suffering from throat cancer… He underwent radiation therapy at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which is in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel), after deliberate medical neglect by the occupation’s [Israeli] Prison Service…
The prisoner is expected to undergo additional radiation therapy. He is also anticipated to undergo an additional surgery to insert a permanent plastic tube into his throat.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 19, 2020]

When Abu Wa’er caught the Coronavirus, he was sent to another Israeli hospital for treatment:

“The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs reported… that cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er… has contracted the Coronavirus and is currently in the Assaf Harofeh Hospital.

The commission said that Israel’s deliberate and systematic policy of medical neglect and negligence is what has made the prisoners a target for the Coronavirus and all the dangerous epidemics and illnesses that are killing them…

The commission said: ‘Prisoner Abu Wa’er, who is suffering from throat cancer and is in a serious and complicated condition, was transferred last Tuesday from wing two of the Gilboa Prison to the hospital in Afula for a number of tests, including a Coronavirus test, and it turned out that he is not sick… Later he was transferred to Assaf Harofeh [Hospital] for a number of tests, including a Coronavirus test, and it turned out that he had contracted the virus.’

It noted that after his contraction [of the virus] was confirmed, prisoner Abu Wa’er, prisoners of wing two of the Gilboa Prison, the prison manager, and 23 prison guards were put into quarantine.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 12, 2020]

Once Abu Wa’er was proven sick with the Coronavirus, an official of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs was quick to make the baseless claim that Israel ignored his illness and made him fall ill with the Coronavirus:

Public Relations Manager of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Thaer Shreitah: “Prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er was subjected to a hostile medical crime by the Israeli occupation. [He is] a prisoner who is sick with throat cancer. He has been suffering for a number of months and [he hasn’t received] any attention from the prison management or the Israeli occupation government. His condition was not treated seriously. On the contrary, there was deliberate medical neglect and this led to his infection with the Coronavirus. This is a result of the Israeli racism against our sick prisoners.”

[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, July 15, 2020]

Official PA TV also repeated the claim that Israel deliberately made Abu Wa’er sick with both cancer and Coronavirus:

Official PA TV host: “Blessings to prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er who is living under extreme conditions inside the occupation’s basements as a result of deliberate medical neglect. Cancer and Coronavirus – an ongoing crime of the occupation…”
Official PA TV reporter: “We are in the home of the heroic prisoner, and it is not strange that he is a hero of Palestine… Palestine is worthy of raising its head high thanks to this brave hero.”

[Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, July 19, 2020]

No “medical neglect” in Israeli prisons

As mentioned, this PA libel is not new. Palestinian Media Watch has exposed similar accusations for more than a decade.

At the same time, the International Red Cross regularly visits the Palestinian  terrorist prisoners and has not documented or accused Israel of any “medical neglect,” “premeditated murder,” or “medical experiments.” On the contrary, a report from the US State Department states that in 2015 Israeli prison conditions “generally met international standards, according to the International Commission of the Red Cross”:

“The law provides prisoners and detainees the right to conditions that do not harm their health or dignity. Conditions in permanent detention facilities run by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) generally met international standards, according to the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC)”

[US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015, Israel and The Occupied Territories, accessed Jan. 5, 2021]

Last year, the International Red Cross visited 90% of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and did not report any medical neglect or improper medical treatment.

International Committee of the Red Cross Spokesperson Suhair Zakkout: “The International Committee [of the Red Cross] is maintaining dialogue [with Israel] and has advised the [Israeli] authorities to release the elderly and sick [prisoners], because their lives will be in immediate danger if God forbid the [Corona]virus spreads among the prisoners. We also have increased the pace of our visits, which have become weekly. We visited more than 20 prisons of Palestinian prisoners inside Israel, and we visited more than 90% of those who are in these prisons.”

[Official PA TV News, June 8, 2020]

In addition, Israeli media has reported that Palestinian terrorist prisoners in fact receive medication that is not even part of the medical service insurance coverage for Israeli citizens to receive for free, and for which Israelis have to pay. [Hakol Hayehudi, Aug. 28, 2018]

To demonstrate the prominence of the PA medical libel, the following are 10 additional examples that PMW has documented – all in the second half of 2020:

Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr has accused Israel’s political top of planning and ordering “the deliberate medical neglect” of the imprisoned terrorists:

Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr: “The 224 [deceased prisoners] have not all [died] as a result of medical neglect. Some were executed at the beginning of their imprisonment, and even inside the prisons – they were shot. But most of them really [died] from deliberate medical neglect. We’ve always called this medical neglect, but it’s deliberate through policy and planning by the highest [Israeli] echelons.”

[Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, July 9, 2020]

Abu Bakr has also claimed Israel purposefully commits “medial crimes” against the prisoners and implements “a policy of deliberate medical murder”:

“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr said that on the instructions of the Israeli political echelon, the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service is deliberately committing medical crimes against the prisoners, and letting their bodies become fertile ground for epidemics and fatal illnesses.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 12, 2020]

“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr emphasized that the occupation government is implementing a policy of deliberate medical murder against the prisoners.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 13, 2020]

Fatah has similarly stated that the prisoners are being medically “assassinated”:

Posted text: “In a statement by the Fatah prisoners’ movement:
The term ‘medical neglect’ indicates that there are medical services that the Israeli occupation Prison Service is providing the prisoners, and this is completely untrue (sic., Israel does provide Palestinian prisoners with medical treatment). What is happening is assassination and not neglect.”

[Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 3, 2020]

A released prisoner added to the medical libel by claiming that Israel never treats sick prisoners but uses them for testing “experimental” drugs, and that prisoners die due to Israel’s “calculated neglect”:

Released prisoner Samir Abu Fayed: “It’s expected that every day a Martyr prisoner will die. I don’t want to provide a negative image or frighten the prisoners’ families… This is deliberate and calculated neglect. There is no diagnosis for a prisoner. You go to the clinic, or to the so-called “clinic,” [and the doctor] doesn’t diagnose your illness… He gives you experiments… Most of the medicine we take is sedatives or experimental [drugs] – if the precise term is experimental – like an experiment. [If] it worked for you, it worked. [If] it didn’t work, there is no solution.”

[Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, Sept. 12, 2020]

As seen in the case of the death of terrorist prisoner Abu Wa’er above, the PA presents as “proof” of the alleged medical misconduct prisoners who die of severe illnesses like cancer. Thus the PA claimed in a documentary about terrorist prisoner Sami Abu Diak – who suffered from cancer and was serving 3 life sentences for murdering 4 people – that Israel had “murdered” him through “systematic and deliberate medical neglect”:

Official PA TV narrator: “Sami [Abu Diak] (i.e., terrorist, murdered 4)… chose resistance to defend his homeland… After 17 months in the Israeli prisons his body began to feel weak, and the prison guard allowed doctors to wreak havoc inside him, so that Sami would suffer bitterly from [cancer] on the one hand, and from the treatment on the other… The so-called [Israeli] prison authority arranged the causes [that would lead to] his murder and deliberately pushed him towards the beginning of the end. Sami is not unusual. He was preceded by hundreds of prisoners who were subjected to systematic and deliberate medical neglect [so Israel could] murder them.”

[Official PA TV, Sept. 15, 2020]

Similarly, when 75-year-old terrorist murderer Sa’adi Al-Gharabli died of cancer, having been in prison for 26 years for stabbing Israeli civilian David Mashli to death while he was sleeping in his home in Tel Aviv on June 26, 1994, the PA cried “premeditated medical murder”:

“Abu Bakr said: ‘With great sadness and grief, [we inform that] elderly Martyr prisoner Al-Gharabli has passed away, following a crime of premeditated medical murder that was committed through the neglect of his health at the hands of the Israeli Prison and Oppression Service for many years. He suffered from prostate cancer, diabetes, and [high blood] pressure. Thus the number of prisoner Martyrs rises to 224 since 1967.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 9, 2020]

The PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs has often repeated the libel about the alleged deliberate policy of “slow death” employed by Israel:

“The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs said that the sick and wounded prisoners inside the so-called Ramle clinic, whose number currently stands at 14 prisoners, are suffering from two things, because they are facing a slow death on a daily basis and the prison management is not giving consideration to their situation, is committing many medical violations, and is leaving them to suffer from pains.
The commission explained that most of the sick prisoners who are in the Ramle clinic are suffering from chronic and most severe illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 9, 2020]

Corona crisis – new version of the PA’s medical libel

The by now year-long Coronavirus crisis immediately sparked a new version of the PA’s medical libel: That Israel is deliberately exposing Palestinian terrorist prisoners to the virus, creating a Corona “holocaust” and letting “the fangs of the Coronavirus” threaten Palestinian prisoners: ​

Ironically, while the PA claimed Israel wasn’t protecting the Palestinians well enough from the virus on the one hand, on the other, Palestinians criticized Israel for its protective measures, maintaining that Israel used the Coronavirus as a means and excuse to suppress the prisoners:

“The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club emphasized that the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service is continuing to use the epidemic as a tool for oppression and abuse against the prisoners, by imposing a double isolation on the prisoners and disrupting their lawyers’ visits. It added that the ‘isolation’ centers that it claims to be providing are nothing but cells and detention camps that are unsuitable for human residence.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 7, 2020]

Similarly, while Israel plans to include terrorist prisoners in the Coronavirus vaccine program, Palestinians use this as yet another opportunity to spread fear and demonize Israel, demanding the vaccinations be supervised to ensure Israel doesn’t exploit the opportunity to “conduct experiments” on the prisoners:

“The speakers [at a support vigil for a prisoner] emphasized that it is necessary to pressure the occupation so there will be a neutral committee that will supervise the provision of Coronavirus vaccinations to the prisoners, out of fears that the occupation authorities will conduct experiments on their bodies as has happened in the past.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 31, 2020]

The following are longer excerpts of the statements above and additional information on the terrorists mentioned:

Press release from the Israeli Government Press Office:

Headline: “ISA: Details on the Arrest of Muhammad Cabha, Suspected of Murdering the Late Esther Horgan”
“(Communicated by the ISA)
The following has been cleared for publication:
The Israeli Security Agency (ISA), in cooperation with the Israel Police (Samaria and Judea District), including the special anti-terror unit, and the IDF, in intelligence and operational activity, detained – on 24 December 2020 – for investigation by the ISA, a suspect in the brutal, murderous terrorist attack on the late Esther Horgan, which was perpetrated on 20 December 2020.
The suspect is Muhammad Cabha, 40, from the village of Tura al-Gharbiya, near Jenin, who has previously served sentences for terrorist activity.
Four additional suspects were arrested with him for assisting him in hiding from the security forces following the attack.
During his ISA and Israel Police investigation, it was learned that Cabha murdered Esther Horgan for nationalist motives; he also divulged additional details about the murder:
Approximately six weeks before the murder, the suspect decided to carry out a terrorist attack after he was influenced – inter alia – by the death of a security prisoner he knew, Kamal Abu Awar, who died in prison due to an illness.
To this end, he went to the area of the murder via a breach in the security fence in order to familiarize himself with the area. After discerning scant traffic in the area and the passage of Israeli civilians, he decided that the place was suitable for carrying out the terrorist attack.
It was also learned that on 20 December 2020, in the afternoon, when the suspect was in the forest adjacent to Tal Menashe in order to engage in smuggling cigarettes through the fence, he identified a Jewish woman walking alone, and attacked and murdered her.
In the days following the attack, the suspect was aided by his relatives, as well as acquaintances in the village of Dayr al-Ghusun, in hiding from the security forces.
The investigation of the suspect is ongoing; upon its conclusion it is anticipated that he will be tried in the Samaria Military Court.
The security forces will continue to take determined counter-terrorist action and will deal with those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”

[Israeli Government Press Office, Jan. 4, 2021]

Kamal Abu Wa’er – Palestinian terrorist and member of the PA Presidential Security Force 17 who participated in a number of lethal terror attacks including: the murder of Israeli border policeman Madhat Yousef in a shooting attack at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus on Oct. 1, 2000; the murder of Rabbi Benjamin Herling in a shooting attack at Mount Eival on Oct. 19, 2000; the shooting and murder of Arnaldo Agranionic, a guard at the town of Itamar, on May 8, 2001; and the murder of 16-year-old Aliza Malka in a drive-by shooting near the entrance of Kibbutz Meirav on Aug. 9, 2001. Abu Wa’er is serving 6 life sentences.

Released prisoner Samir Abu Fayed: “My brother Samer, the situation of the prisoners- The issue [occurs] every second. Perhaps even now while I am talking with you, a Martyr prisoner is dying. It’s expected that every day a Martyr prisoner will die. I don’t want to provide a negative image or frighten the prisoners’ families. But in effect, every moment a Martyr could die.”
…
Official PA TV host: “Most of the prisoners who were arrested in the second Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005, more than 1,100 Israelis murdered), their average age was between 28 and 30. Today their average age [is] 50.”

Samir Abu Fayed: “Brother Samer, this issue is expected. Unfortunately it is expected. We are not supposed to be in a place of expecting the death as a Martyr of a prisoner. But unfortunately this has become something expected. This is our situation inside the prisons, and of course this situation is a result of deliberate neglect, not natural negligence. Deliberate neglect is different than negligence. This is deliberate and calculated neglect. In other words, there is no diagnosis for a prisoner. You go to the clinic, or to the so-called ‘clinic,’ [and the doctor] doesn’t diagnose your illness. There is no diagnosis for the prisoner’s illness in order to define the treatment for him. He gives you experiments, and I’m not exaggerating – this reality is the situation. Most of the medicine we take is sedatives or experimental [drugs] – if the precise term is experimental – like an experiment. [If] it didn’t work, there is no solution.”

[Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, Sept. 12, 2020]

Samir Abu Fayed – Released prisoner. PMW was unable to determine the ‎nature of his crimes.‎

Headline: “12 prisoners in Ofer Prison contracted the Coronavirus, and the Prisoners’ Club places the responsibility on the occupation”
“The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club announced that the number of prisoners who have contracted the Coronavirus in wing 14 of the Ofer Prison has risen to 12.
In a statement it issued yesterday evening, [Sept. 8, 2020,] the Club explained that five new cases of the Coronavirus have been recorded among the prisoners…
It added that since the beginning of the spread of the epidemic until today 12 cases have been recorded among the prisoners…
It also noted that the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service is attempting to mislead the public opinion and the human rights organizations by hiding the true number of prisoners who have contracted the virus…
The Club placed the full responsibility for the fate of the prisoners in the occupation’s prison on the occupation authorities…
It should be noted that the Israeli Prison Service has imposed a double isolation on the prisoners, and has used the epidemic as a means of oppression and abuse.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 9, 2020]

Headline: “The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club: Two prisoners in the Ofer Prison contracted the Coronavirus”
“The Ofer Prison management announced that two prisoners contracted the Coronavirus…
The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club explained in a statement that the prison management transferred the two prisoners to wing 18, which is the wing that the management decided to designate for isolating prisoners who contracted the virus…
The Prisoners’ Club emphasized that the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service is continuing to use the epidemic as a tool for oppression and abuse against the prisoners, by imposing a double isolation on the prisoners and disrupting their lawyers’ visits. It added that the ‘isolation’ centers that it claims to be providing are nothing but cells and detention camps that are unsuitable for human residence.
It should be noted that since the spread of the epidemic, 17 cases of contracting the Coronavirus have been recorded among the prisoners, including two released prisoners whose infection was discovered a day after their release.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 7, 2020]

Headline: “Abu Bakr: The occupation is deliberately violating the rights of the sick prisoners in order to kill them”
“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr emphasized that the occupation government is implementing a policy of deliberate medical murder against the prisoners.
During a visit he made together with a delegation from the commission to a number of released prisoners in Bethlehem, Abu Bakr said… that the occupation authorities and their Israeli Prison Service are not honoring the international and human standards on everything regarding the treatment of sick prisoners.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 13, 2020]

Headline: “Ashrawi: Israel bears the legal and moral responsibility for prisoner Abu Wa’er’s death as a Martyr”
“PLO Executive Committee member [and head of the PLO Department of Diplomacy and Public Policy] Hanan Ashrawi said that the death as a Martyr of cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4) as a result of deliberate medical neglect (sic., see note below) is proof of the severity of the situation in the occupation’s prisons, the severity of the conditions of the Israeli detention centers, the various types of torture from which the prisoners are suffering, and the fact that they are receiving barbaric and cruel treatment from those responsible for the prisons.
In a statement, Ashrawi emphasized yesterday evening, Tuesday [Nov. 10, 2020], that Abu Wa’er’s death as a Martyr is an additional crime in Israel’s record, which is full of crimes and deliberate violations of international law and human rights.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 11, 2020]

Headline: “Prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er died as a Martyr – Shtayyeh conveys condolences to the Martyr’s father, and holds the occupation responsible for this due to deliberate medical neglect”
“Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4), 49, a cancer patient prisoner in the Israeli occupation’s prison, died yesterday evening [Nov. 10, 2020] as a Martyr as a result of the policy of deliberate medical neglect (sic., see note below).
[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh conveyed his condolences yesterday evening to the Martyr’s relatives during a phone call with his father. The prime minister said: ‘We are consoling ourselves, our people, and the Martyr’s family on our loss of a fighter and a pure-hearted son of Palestine, who sacrificed his freedom for the sake of the freedom of his people and his homeland.’ He added: ‘We hold the occupation responsible for Abu Wa’er’s death as a Martyr, due to the prison managements’ deliberate medical neglect of our prisoners.’ Shtayyeh again called on the international institutions and human rights organizations to intervene for the release of the sick prisoners, elderly prisoners, female prisoners, and child prisoners from the occupation’s prison. The prime minister prayed to Almighty and Omnipotent Allah that He wrap the Martyr in His great mercies, have him dwell in Paradise, and bestow his family with patience and consolation.
Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr accused the occupation of murdering prisoner Abu Wa’er, and this by abandoning him as prey to cancer. In a phone call with [the official PA news agency] WAFA, he added that the medical crime against Martyr prisoner Abu Wa’er is testimony to the racism and the grudge that the occupation feels, and also to its efforts to harm our prisoners in all ways.
Abu Bakr held the occupation government fully responsible for this crime, which was committed premeditatedly by the [Israeli] Prison Service that knew well the severity of prisoner Abu Wa’er’s health condition, which necessitated his immediate release.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 11, 2020]

“The PLO Executive Committee demanded that the international community put practical tools in place to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation in order to stop its aggression and crimes against our people, to impose sanctions on it, to boycott it, and to put it on trial…
The Executive Committee saluted the prisoners who are in the occupation’s prison cells and their resolve facing the policy of isolation, torture, and deliberate medical neglect for the purpose of carrying out the policy of killing and execution.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 24, 2020]

“The delegation of Palestine in the Netherlands demanded that the Dutch government and parliament intervene in order to stop the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s prisons…
The delegation emphasized that Israel’s policy of deliberate medical neglect that endangers the lives of the thousands of prisoners necessitates a firm stance by the international community.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 18, 2020]

Headline: “The prisoners’ institutions demanded to release Abu Wa’er and all the sick prisoners”
“The representatives of the bodies working in the field of the prisoners called to release sick prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4) and all the sick prisoners immediately, as a prelude to the release of all the prisoners from the occupation’s prisons…
Chairman of the [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club Qadura Fares said that… the occupation is striving to spread the Coronavirus via the invasion of soldiers who are likely to be sick into Palestinian homes and mixing with the civilians and prisoners.
He explained that the occupation is giving the prisoners strips of cloth that do not protect against the virus instead of medical masks.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 17, 2020]

Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, hosting Public Relations Manager of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Thaer Shreitah

Official PA TV host: “Good morning mister Thaer. First, so that it will be clearer to the viewers, update us about the condition of prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4) – in other words, after he was infected with the Coronavirus – and the policy of deliberate medical neglect in the occupation’s prisons. What is his condition currently?”

Public Relations Manager of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Thaer Shreitah: “Prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er was subjected to a hostile medical crime by the Israeli occupation. [He is] a prisoner who is sick with throat cancer. He has been suffering for a number of months and [he hasn’t received] any attention from the prison management or the Israeli occupation government. His condition was not treated seriously. On the contrary, there was deliberate medical neglect and this led to his infection with the Coronavirus. This is a result of the Israeli racism against our sick prisoners, and therefore prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er is a potential Martyr, if the international community won’t take a step to save him.”

[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, July 15, 2020]

Headline: “Cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er has contracted the Coronavirus”
“The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs reported today, Sunday [July 12, 2020], that cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4), 46, from the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin, has contracted the Coronavirus and is currently in the Assaf Harofeh Hospital.
The commission said that Israel’s deliberate and systematic policy of medical neglect and negligence is what has made the prisoners a target for the Coronavirus and all the dangerous epidemics and illnesses that are killing them…
The commission said: ‘Prisoner Abu Wa’er, who is suffering from throat cancer and is in a serious and complicated condition, was transferred last Tuesday from wing two of the Gilboa Prison to the hospital in Afula for a number of tests, including a Coronavirus test, and it turned out that he is not sick… Later he was transferred to Assaf Harofeh [Hospital] for a number of tests, including a Coronavirus test, and it turned out that he had contracted the virus.’
It noted that after his contraction [of the virus] was confirmed, prisoner Abu Wa’er, prisoners of wing two of the Gilboa Prison, the prison manager, and 23 prison guards were put into quarantine.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 12, 2020]

Headline: “Erekat: The occupying authority must immediately release prisoner Abu Wa’er, and the international community must impose sanctions on it”
“PLO Executive Committee Secretary Saeb Erekat demanded that Israel, the occupying power, immediately release sick prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of at least 4) without conditions or limitations. He warned that the spread of the Coronavirus within the prisons will cause an inevitable disaster for which the occupation authorities will be the first to bear responsibility, and which will lead to an explosion whose end will be bad and bitter.
Erekat emphasized in a statement today, Sunday [July 12, 2020], that the official echelon is continuing to hold frantic contact with all the relevant international bodies in order to exert serious pressure on the occupying authority for the release of the sick, elderly, child, and female prisoners. This is due to the danger of the spread of the Coronavirus that is threatening their lives.
He said: ‘Throughout the recent months we have warned the international community against the danger of the virus spreading within the prisons, and we have called on all the states and human rights organizations to intervene. However, the fact that Israel is not acceding to the Palestinian and international demands and is not listening to the instructions of international humanitarian law – in addition to the death as a Martyr of prisoner Sa’adi Al-Gharabli (i.e., terrorist, murdered 1) a few days ago as a result of a crime of deliberate medical neglect – obligate the international community not to observe from the side, but rather to act immediately to demand an accounting from the occupation authority regarding its organized and incessant violations. They also necessitate personal and collective activity in order to impose sanctions on it and cause it to pay the price of its violations, which oppose international law.’
Erekat again demanded to open the Israeli prisons to an international investigative committee, to check the condition of the prisoners, and to confirm that means of preventing the spread of the virus are being provided…
He called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hurry and launch a criminal investigation before it is too late.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 12, 2020]

Saeb Erekat also serves as Fatah Central Committee member and PLO Chief Negotiator

Sa’adi Al-Gharabli – Palestinian terrorist and Hamas member from Gaza who stabbed and murdered Israeli civilian David Mashli in his sleep at his home in Tel Aviv on June 26, 1994. Al-Gharabli was serving a life sentence when he died of cancer in July 2020.

Headline: “Abu Bakr: The Israeli authorities are intentionally letting the prisoners’ bodies become fertile ground for epidemics and fatal illnesses”
“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr said that on the instructions of the Israeli political echelon, the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service is deliberately committing medical crimes against the prisoners, and letting their bodies become fertile ground for epidemics and fatal illnesses.
Abu Bakr said this during a visit to the family of prisoner Imad Abdallah Shuqeir (PMW was unable to determine the nature of his crimes –Ed.) from the town of Al-Zawiya in the Salfit district, who was arrested 20 years ago and is serving a life sentence, and to the family of prisoner Othman Ibrahim Younes (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of 3) from the town of Sanniriya in the Qalqilya district, who was arrested 17 years ago and is serving 4 life sentences.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 12, 2020]

Othman Younes – Palestinian terrorist and member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing) who sent terrorist Habash Hanani to murder 3 Israeli students and wound 2 others in the town of Itamar, near Nablus, on May 28, 2002. Younes was also involved in additional shooting and bombing attacks in the West Bank. Younes is serving 4 life sentences.

Headline: “The occupation’s crimes against the prisoners continue: Sa’adi Al-Gharabli dies as a Martyr, and Muhammad Salah Al-Din has become sick with cancer”
“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr said that the occupation’s Israeli Prison Service officially announced to them yesterday, Wednesday [July 8, 2020], that prisoner Sa’adi Al-Gharabli (i.e., terrorist, murdered 1), 75, from the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, has died as a Martyr in the occupation’s prison, following suffering and a bitter prison term that lasted more than 26 consecutive years…
Abu Bakr said: ‘With great sadness and grief, [we inform that] elderly Martyr prisoner Al-Gharabli has passed away, following a crime of premeditated medical murder that was committed through the neglect of his health at the hands of the Israeli Prison and Oppression Service for many years. He suffered from prostate cancer, diabetes, and [high blood] pressure. Thus the number of prisoner Martyrs rises to 224 since 1967.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 9, 2020]

Headline: “A deterioration in the health of cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er”
“The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs expressed concern over the deterioration in the health of cancer patient prisoner Kamal Abu Wa’er (i.e., terrorist, involved in murder of 4), 46, … who is currently in the so-called ‘Ramle Clinic.’
The commission explained in a statement yesterday [Oct. 18, 2020] that prisoner Abu Wa’er is suffering from throat cancer…
He underwent radiation therapy at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which is in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel), after deliberate medical neglect by the occupation’s [Israeli] Prison Service…
The prisoner is expected to undergo additional radiation therapy. He is also anticipated to undergo an additional surgery to insert a permanent plastic tube into his throat. It should be noted that prisoner Abu Wa’er has been imprisoned since 2003, and that he was sentenced to 6 life sentences and another 50 years.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 19, 2020]

“Dozens of civilians participated in a support vigil for prisoner Jibril Al-Zbeidi, who has been hunger striking for 19 days consecutively in protest of his administrative detention…
The speakers emphasized that it is necessary to pressure the occupation so there will be a neutral committee that will supervise the provision of Coronavirus vaccinations to the prisoners, out of fears that the occupation authorities will conduct experiments on their bodies as has happened in the past (sic., see note below -Ed.).”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 31, 2020]

Sami Ahed Abu Diak – Palestinian prisoner arrested in 2002 during the 5-year PA terror campaign, the Intifada, and serving 3 life sentences and an additional 30 years. Abu Diak died in prison of cancer on Nov. 26, 2019; Israel had provided cancer treatment for him in prison. PMW has been unable to determine the details of his crimes.