RAMALLAH, March 27, 2011 (WAFA) – Palestinian Prisoner’s Club Saturday said that Palestinian prisoner Ahmad al-Najjar, 34, lost his ability to speak following a recent surgery to remove his vocal chords due to cancer, after continued medical negligence by Israeli prison authorities.

Al-Najjar, from Silwad village near Ramallah in the center of the West Bank, and who holds American nationality, was arrested in 2003. He was diagnosed early after his arrest with throat cancer, but his condition deteriorated under prison doctors’ negligence. He was only provided with pain killers during his extended stay in Ramla prison hospital, the Club said in a statement.

Following the deterioration in his condition, al-Najjar underwent ten surgeries while bound to a hospital bed in Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva; during the last one, his vocal cords were removed.

Al-Najjar, who was sentenced to prison for life, has been denied from seeing his wife and child since he was arrested, according to the statement.

The statement urged human rights organizations to intervene as the medical conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are deteriorating due to the Israeli negligence policy. Many prisoners suffer from chronic illnesses and face complete medical disregard of their conditions by Israeli prison authorities.

R.Q./F.J.