Atef Woreidat is facing death in Israeli prison due to abusive acts against him, and this is the case of Palestinians in Israeli detention. In response, Netanyahu is considering withdrawing privileges.

Atef Woreidat is just another Palestinian detainee in Israeli prisons who is facing death due to the occupation’s violent and abusive acts against him.

Woreidat has been in detention for nine years and still has two years in prison. He has been going on a hunger and medicine strike, after the occupying authority decided to move him to Askalan prison that has very high humidity and temperature, and rejected his demands to be treated for his several health problems.

Today, Woreidat’s health is deteriorating. “He has been struggling since 14 days without food or medicine, and is barely able to breathe” the Lebanese daily As-Safir quoted the detainee’s brother Nasser as saying.

“My brother cannot stand up, he can’t not recognize anyone, his body is emaciated, and he cannot speak. I’m afraid that he would die, his health status is very critical and requires instant treatment,” he added.

1,500 Palestinian detainees suffering illness in Israeli prisons went on medicine strike Tuesday, while hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated near the International Red Cross headquarter in Al-Khalil city in solidarity with Woreidat.

Moreover, the Palestinian detainee’s daughter Carine Woreidat held a press conference at the government’s Information Center in Ramallah Tuesday, where she criticized “humanitarian organizations that speak without taking any action.”

Carine said that “despite his sufferings, my father was also isolated and beaten by the prison guards. They want him to die and we tell them that he will not die, he will always be present in the heart of every Palestinian child.”

She further cried “o world; to hell with your conscience and to hell with humanitarian organizations if my father and all the detainees were not released from the occupation prisons.”

On his part, Minister of Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Karake indicated that “like Woreidat, there are many others whose lives are in danger due to the occupation’s suppressive policies.”

“In prison, slow death is targeting all the detainees”, Karake added.

In parallel, Israeli media reported that Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu is considering “withdrawing some privileges” from the Palestinian detainees to pressure Hamas so that it accepts a prisoner exchange deal that would release Israeli prisoner Gilad Shalit who was captured by Hamas in 2006.

Netanyahu was quoted as saying that he is considering “cancelling family visits to prisoners, preventing the Red Cross from visiting them, and confiscating their books, journals and stationary, as well as denying them phone calls”.