'Israel' still withholding body of Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa
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The family of martyred Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa reveals that the Israeli occupation is still withholding his body weeks after his martyrdom.
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Martyred Palestinian detainee Walid Daqqa
The family of martyred Palestinian detainee Walid Daqqa denounced Sunday the Israeli occupation's continued detention of his body after the Israeli Supreme Court said the authorities need "more time" to complete the required procedures for his release.
The Israeli occupation said the release was postponed until May 5, though it is not unlikely that it gets postponed once again.
The Daqqa family released a statement condemning the inhumane punitive measure, calling on the Supreme Follow-up Committee, Palestinian parties, and local and international human rights organizations to join them in ending the injustice still faced post-mortem by the detainee.
The family of martyr Daqqa announced that the occupation was still withholding his body, explaining that the decision to hand over the body lies with Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The family revealed that they were not aware of the occupation's transfer of Daqqa to the Israeli Assaf Harofeh Hospital until they learned of his martyrdom through the media instead of official channels.
In an interview with Al Mayadeen, the family confirmed that the occupation had prevented them from visiting the detainee and making contact with him since October 7, 2023, when the aggression on the Gaza Strip began, noting that his lawyer was later allowed to visit him only twice and with an Israeli court order.
Palestinian detainee Walid Daqqa was martyred inside Assaf Harofeh Hospital on April 7 following a nearly four-decade-long struggle in Israeli occupation prisons, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) confirmed on Sunday evening.
This comes shortly after the human rights group Amnesty International called on "Israel" to release Daqqa on humanitarian grounds on Saturday. The rights group affirmed that the Palestinian detainee had suffered torture, humiliation, lack of family visits, and medical neglect, particularly since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Medical neglect
Regarding Daqqa's health during his imprisonment, the family said that the Israeli occupation deliberately practiced a policy of medical neglect against the martyr, which aggravated his health condition again, explaining that he suffered from kidney disease.
The family pointed out that before his condition worsened, Daqqa's health had been improving when they last saw him more than 6 months ago.
Daqqa was born in the town of Baqa al-Gharbiya, in northern occupied Palestinian '48 territories. He joined the ranks of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1983 and was assigned to a military cell of the front. Alongside his comrades in the PFLP, Daqqa conducted a series of operations against Israeli occupation forces and took captive Moshi Tamam an Israeli soldier.
He was detained two years later and initially received a death sentence, which was later reduced to 37 years in prison. In 2018, the Israeli occupation added another two years to his sentence, on charges of smuggling phones to detainees to help them communicate with their families.
A few years ago, his wife, Sanaa Salameh, was able to give birth to their daughter, Milad, after smuggling his sperm from prison. Upon discovering this, "Israel" imposed harsh penalties on Daqqa, admitting him to solitary confinement and restricting his visitation rights.
Daqqa is considered one of the most prominent writers and thinkers of the Palestinian Captive Movement. "Israel" punished him for his resistance, denying him access to proper medical care and early release despite his declining health.
In December 2022, he was diagnosed with advanced bone marrow cancer and urgently required a transplant, which he has not yet received.
On May 22, 2023, Daqqa was moved to the intensive care unit at Assaf Harofeh Hospital near "Tel Aviv" due to worsening health issues. However, three days later, Israeli authorities transferred him back to "Ramleh" prison's clinic, known for its harsh conditions, despite calls from human rights organizations to keep him hospitalized for continuous monitoring and treatment if he is not released.
His continued detention contradicted the 1993 Oslo Accords, which included a provision for the release of all Palestinian detainees held before the agreement was signed.
During his detention, Daqqa was denied the opportunity to bid farewell to his father before his passing or to visit his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's, a decade ago.
