A 75-year-old Palestinian man from Gaza serving a life sentence in Israel for resisting the occupation has died today of cancer, said the Palestinian Detainees Commission, which in turn blamed his death on medical negligence by the Israel Prison Service (IPS).
It said Sadi Gharabli, from Shajayeh in the northern Gaza Strip, has served 26 years of his life sentence when he died of prostate cancer.
Gharabli was arrested in 1994 and then placed in solitary confinement until 2006 during which he developed various health problems, including diabetes and poor sight and hearing until he recently was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The Detainees Commission said the IPS has refused several appeals to move him to Ramla prison clinic for treatment and left him in his cell causing a serious setback to his health until he was said to be in a coma before pronouncing him dead.
Gharabli was married with 10 children. His son, Ahmad, was killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers in 2002 when he was only 20 years old.
There are over 6000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for resisting the occupation, many serving long prison terms and multiple life sentences.
The Commission said 68 Palestinians have died in Israeli jails since the start of the occupation in 1967 due to medical negligence.
