Seventeen Palestinian prisoners in Israel's al-Ramla prison are being treated for serious medical conditions in the prison's clinic, a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners Society said on Tuesday.
Jawad Bolous identified two of the 17 as Sami Abu Diak and Bassam al-Sayeh, both of whom suffer from different forms of cancer.
Bolous said al-Sayeh, from the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, is suffering from a type of cancer that is attacking his blood cells and bone marrow, as well as heart problems. Bolous said al-Sayeh is in a severe condition.
Abu Diak, a prisoner from Jenin, suffers from bowel cancer and underwent surgery in October, Bolus said, adding that Diak nearly died from the surgery due to "medical negligence."
Diak has been transferred to Suroka hospital several times for examination and treatment.
In addition to the 17, at least four other sick prisoners have been transferred from al-Ramla to other jails, Bolous added.
The prisoners were identified as Nahid al-Aqraa, who was transferred to Gilboa prison, Salah al-Titi and Mutasem Raddad, who were transferred to Hadarim prison, and Eias al-Rifai, who was transferred to Eshel prison. The reason for their transfers are unknown.
According to the Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR), poor conditions in Israeli prisons have led to the deterioration of health for a large number of Palestinian prisoners.
"Prison clinics have become renowned for offering only aspirin for all health treatments and physicians within the clinics are all soldiers," CEPR said in a report.
More than 6,700 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails, according to prisoners' rights group Addameer.
