On 29 April, the family of Haneen Jaber, the imprisoned Palestinian mother of martyrs Mahmoud Jaber and Mohammed Jaber (Abu Shujaa), of Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, has been diagnosed with cancer. She is currently in a critical medical condition inside Zionist occupation prisons.
Haneen Jaber was arrested on the evening of December 4, 2024, by the Zionist occupation forces at the entrance of the city of Qalgilya.
The arrest and targeting of the mothers — and fellow relatives — of martyrs and resistance fighters is a common practice of the occupation regime in Palestine. It is frequently used in an attempt to force people to turn themselves in, or as a form of collective punishment in an attempt to deter future resistance fighters from confronting the occupation.
Haneen’s son, the martyr Mohammed Jaber, Abu Shujaa, became a legendary resistance fighter and a leader of the Tulkarem Brigades with Saraya al-Quds of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, martyred at the age of 26. He was abducted for the first time by the Zionist regime when he was 17 years old and spent 5 years in occupation prisons through multiple arrests, where he was imprisoned alongside leaders of the resistance. He repeatedly confronted not only the attacks of the occupation but also of the collaborationist Palestinian Authority, which sought to arrest or even assassinate him under the policy of “security coordination” with the Zionist regime.
He was assassinated by the occupation regime on 29 August 2024 after multiple assassination attempts, and battled with the occupation until the last moment alongside his fellow strugglers, Hamouda al-Awfi and Majd Daoud. All three of their bodies were kidnapped by the occupation as part of the ongoing policy of the abduction of the bodies of martyrs as a form of collective punishment and in order to hold them hostage. Their bodies continue to be imprisoned by the occupation today; Haneen, and the other families of the martyrs, have been denied even the right to bury their beloved and heroic sons.
Watch his interview with Al-Mayadeen before his assassination (subtitled in English):
If you have not seen Abu Shujaa’s interview with AlMayadeen weeks ago – subtitled in English on X by @BIG__Brother7 – please do. It is one of the main reasons the Zionist regime cited to ban AlMayadeen – because they are so afraid of his voice. pic.twitter.com/tXgxlnqryD
— Samidoun Network (@SamidounPP) August 29, 2024
Nine months earlier, in December 2023, his brother, Mahmoud Jaber, was martyred in the Nour Shams camp, killed by the occupation forces during one of their attacks on the camp’s people. He was one of five Palestinians martyred that day in the camp as they confronted the invading occupation forces.
Haneen sons, Ahmad and Uday are both liberated prisoners who spent years in the occupation’s prisons; her youngest son, Qusay, saw his mother arrested in front of him by the occupation forces. Their home was demolished by the occupation during their ongoing invasion and attack on Nour Shams camp and the other refugee camps of the West Bank, which have displaced tens of thousands. Her husband, Samer Jaber, spoke about her imprisonment with Free Palestine TV:
Haneen Jaber’s cancer diagnosis behind bars is particularly worrisome and her release urgent, because the Zionist regime practices a clear policy of medical neglect and mistreatment against the Palestinian prisoners. For years, medical neglect and negligence has been the standard official operating policy of the Zionist prison administration. However, amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza and since 7 October 2023, the practice of medical abuse has dramatically escalated. Over 65 Palestinian prisoners have been martyred in Zionist jails since that date, including multiple Palestinians killed by torture and others by starvation, malnutrition, medical neglect and mistreatment. Walid Daqqah, the Palestinian intellectual, writer and freedom fighter, was martyred on 4 April 2024 after he was repeatedly denied appropriate treatment for his rare blood cancer as well as being denied early release on multiple occasions.
Palestinian prisoners’ associations appealed today to the World Health Organization (WHO) over the urgent crisis for Palestinian health, noting “the outbreak of a number of diseases including scabies skin disease and amoebic infections, chronic diarrhea, continuous vomiting, in addition to other serious skin diseases. Child detainees are also exhibiting symptoms of undiagnosed and untreated dermatological illnesses. All detainees are being denied their right to medical care, and the prison administration refuses to treat the root cause of these illnesses, which is the inhumane and unhygienic detention conditions inside the prisons.”
The occupation has denied Palestinian prisoners access to cleaning supplies, personal sanitary needs, and medical care, particularly examinations and transfers by outside or independent doctors and hospitals. This weaponization of health care parallels the ongoing assault and destruction of the hospitals of Gaza, and the assassination and imprisonment of healthcare workers, such as Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. In short, the dire medical situation in the Zionist prisons is not only tragic, it is a policy of slow killing and assassination against the Palestinian prisoners.
We urge all to follow and participate in the Dismantle Damon campaign to join international actions and informational campaigns about Haneen Jaber and all of the women prisoners in Zionist jails.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network calls for the immediate release of Haneen Jaber and all Palestinian prisoners, particularly the thousands of sick and ill prisoners, many with serious or chronic illness, being denied medical care and subjected to a systematic policy of medical negligence. We send our warmest wishes, hopes and prayers for a speedy recovery to Haneen and all of the imprisoned patients, for their health and liberation, and for the health and liberation of Palestine, its land and people.
Discover more from Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
