Mousa Haroun Abu Mahameed

September 03, 2022: Mousa Haroun Abu Mahameed, 40, a Palestinian political prisoner held by Israel, died at the Assaf Harofeh Israeli medical center.

Two days before his death, his family from Beit Ta’mar village, east of Bethlehem, held Israel responsible for the sharp and sudden health deterioration which eventually led to his death.

His father, Haron, said he was surprised to be informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that his son, who was healthy when he was taken prisoner, was not in prison when he tried to apply for a permit to visit with him, an issue that was of great concern to the family before it contacted human rights groups.

Haron added that he was later informed that his son was admitted to the Assaf Harofeh Israeli medical center.

Mousa had a psychological condition and received treatment prior to being abducted, but was otherwise healthy, not suffering from any health condition or diseases.

When the father was finally able to head to the hospital on Wednesday, August 21, 2022, the doctors told him that his son was in a critical condition and that he was admitted on August 7, but neither the family nor the Red Cross or any other group were informed.

The Israeli soldiers abducted Mousa in June of 2021 while crossing a military roadblock heading to his work in Jerusalem.

The army said Mousa was taken prisoner because he had no permit to enter or work in occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) held Israel responsible for Abu Mahameed’s death, adding that Israel has escalated its violations against the Palestinian workers since the beginning of this year, not only by assaulting and abducting them, but also by opening fire at them at crossing points and military roadblocks.

Israeli soldiers abducted more than 2140 Palestinians since the beginning of this year, 2022, including more than 450 Palestinians, among them many children, who were abducted on April 15 in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Also, there are more than 600 ailing Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, among them 200 with chronic conditions and 22 who have cancer and tumors, including Nasser Abu Hmeid, who is in a serious condition due to lung cancer.

It is worth mentioning that Israel still holds the corpses of 357 Palestinians, including 106 who were killed after 2015, and continues to refuse them to their families and 256 buried in the so-called “Numbers Graveyards.”

Mousa was from Beit Ta’mar village, east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC