Prisoners’ Organizations: Severe Medical Deterioration Among Palestinians in Megiddo
Palestinian prisoners’ organizations say three detainees face life-threatening conditions in Megiddo prison due to medical neglect, mistreatment and denial of basic care.
Key Developments
- Lawyers documented serious health deterioration among detainees.
- Prisoners denied medication, surgery and pain relief.
- One detainee’s weight dropped to 37 kg after illness.
- Groups call conditions a “medical and humanitarian crime.”
Health Conditions Deteriorate
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association warned that several detainees held in Israel’s Megiddo prison face severe and worsening medical conditions, describing a pattern of deliberate medical neglect.
The warning followed a lawyer’s visit documenting what the organizations described as “extremely dangerous health cases” amid refusal to provide necessary treatment, alongside hunger, dehydration, humiliation and denial of basic hygiene supplies.
The organizations said Israeli prison authorities bear full responsibility for the detainees’ lives and urged urgent international intervention.
Abdullah Mazhar
Abdullah Mahmoud Mazhar, 25, from Balata refugee camp in Nablus and held under administrative detention since September 25, 2025, suffers from shrapnel lodged in his left eye from an earlier injury.
Before arrest he required daily medicated drops, but prison authorities have reportedly prevented him from receiving them, causing “constant burning and continuous pain,” according to the organizations.
Mazhar also has a long-standing injury in his right hand containing metal plates and causing severe pain. Prison officials reportedly refuse to provide painkillers or allow surgery while keeping him permanently shackled in metal restraints and subjecting him to repeated punitive measures.
Mohammad Hamadneh
Mohammad Sobhi Hamadneh, 42, from Nablus, detained since August 1, 2024, suffered serious complications after contracting an infection described as similar to amoebiasis.
The illness led to severe diarrhea, inability to stand or breathe normally, and extreme weight loss to 37 kilograms. His blood pressure reportedly dropped to a critical level before he lost consciousness.
He was transferred to Emek Medical Center and remained hospitalized for 29 days but was discharged despite his condition. During treatment he was allegedly assaulted by a nurse, according to the organizations.
Nael Barghouti Calls on the World to Act for Exiled Palestinian Prisoners
Yaqoub Qadri
Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, 53, from Bir al-Basha near Jenin, suffers from chronic thyroid disease requiring urgent surgery, as well as spinal disc problems in both his lower back and neck for more than two decades.
He also has severe dental pain requiring immediate care, which he has reportedly been denied.
Qadri is one of six prisoners involved in the 2021 Gilboa prison escape and has been detained since October 2003.
The organizations said the conditions amount to a “complete medical and humanitarian crime,” accusing prison authorities of systematic neglect and abuse.
They called on international and human rights bodies to intervene immediately to ensure treatment and halt what they described as ongoing violations inside the Israeli prison system.
(QNN, PC, Press Release)