by Eli Morey
The Palestinian Youth Movement, a global grassroots organization of young Palestinians dedicated to the struggle against the zionist military occupation of their country, are circulating a crucial petition demanding freedom for a political prisoner held for decades and is being denied life saving care in spite of a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.
The following statement is from their website:
“Walid Daqqah is a 62-year-old Palestinian writer, intellectual and organizer who has been imprisoned in Israeli jails since 1986 for his resistance. He has been detained for over 37 years now. He has been denied the right to have a family, to raise his own daughter, and to see his dying parents. Last year, Daqqah was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis – a rare form of bone marrow cancer that disrupts the body’s normal production of blood cells. Despite his deteriorating health, Israel refused to release him or provide him access to urgent, life-saving medical care. The occupation is killing Walid Daqqah in an act of deliberate medical negligence. This medical negligence on behalf of the Israeli state is a brazen violation of international humanitarian law that guarantees the rights of prisoners in occupied territories and access to necessary medical care for those who are sick.”
PYM goes on to lay out the demands and objectives of their campaign:
“The undersigned call on all international actors to place immediate and persistent pressure on Israel and the ‘Israel Prison Services’ to ensure the immediate release of Daqqah. In line with his family’s campaign, we call on Amnesty International; the United Nations; the International Committee of the Red Cross; and Human Rights Watch to take immediate action by:
1. Publicly condemning the Israeli regime for their unlawful treatment of Walid Daqqah and the policy of medical negligence inside of Israeli prisons at large.
2. Amplify our demands for Walid Daqqah’s immediate release and ensure that he receives the urgent, life-saving medical care that he needs.
3. Urgently form a medical team in communication with his family campaign and prisoners’ institutions to visit Walid, in order to break the medical blackout about his condition.
4. Pressure the occupying power to allow Daqqah’s family unrestricted access to visitation rights and knowledge on the progression of his health.
5. Urge the United Nations Security Council to take action by referring this grave violation of international law to the International Criminal Court. Israel’s medical negligence against Daqqah is a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention which enlists the rights of prisoners in occupied territories. It “is illegal and can be defined as a war crime or crime against humanity.”
The Indianapolis Liberation Center stands in full support of the PYM in their fight for liberation and against Israel’s brazen violations of human rights.
Resistance is justified when people are occupied!
Use this link to see the full statement form the Palestinian Youth Movement, sign the petition, and participate in the email blast.
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