Occupied Palestine has undergone a turbulent week following the death in an Israeli jail of Palestinian prisoner Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh. Palestinian officials accused Israel of withholding badly needed medical care from the Hebron inmate who was suffering from cancer. Palestinian official Eissa Qaraqei, who is in charge of the prisoners' affairs portfolio, said Israeli authorities had been aware of Abu Hamdiyeh's deteriorating condition for months, but chose to ignore his serious illness. “They wanted him to die. We told them a thousand times that the man was very ill, but they wouldn't listen to us. They behaved so callously, they couldn't bring themselves to realise that a human being was dying and that he needed urgent medical treatment. “They wouldn't even let him bid a final farewell to his family before his death. Can you imagine such insensitivity, such callousness?” Abu Hamdiyeh's death drew angry reactions and generated an Intifada-like atmosphere throughout the West Bank, prompting some observers to warn that a real uprising was underway and that a combination of incremental factors plaguing the occupied territories would make an all-out outbreak of violence inevitable. In the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem at least two youths were shot and killed by crack Israeli soldiers. The two young boys were killed as Israeli troops fired on Palestinian protesters. Palestinian and human rights organisations operating in the West Bank said the protesters at no point posed a life threat to the heavily armed and distant soldiers. “The soldiers were trigger-happy; they opened fire with ease. For them, a Palestinian life is worthless,” said Yehia Moussa, an eyewitness. In addition to the two fatalities, dozens of protesters were injured, mostly by metal-cased rubber bullets and from gas inhalation. Meanwhile, thousands took part in Abu Hamdiyeh's funeral procession in downtown Hebron, with many calling for revenge. Some armed men calling themselves “Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades” fired into the air, saying they wouldn't allow Abu Hamdiyeh's life to end in vain. However, it was widely thought that the masked men were regular Palestinian Authority (PA) security personnel. PA leader Mahmoud Abbas effectively dissolved Al-Aqsa Brigades as part of his efforts to establish law and order in the West Bank. Abu Hamdiyeh is the second Palestinian inmate to die in an Israeli jail in two months. A few weeks ago, Arafat Jaradat, also from Hebron, died under what is widely believed to be severe physical torture by Israeli interrogators. Israel denied charges to that effect, but the scars of violent beatings on his body seemed to leave no doubt as the real cause of his death. It also appears clear that neither Israel nor the PA is interested in escalation at this time. Palestinian officials interviewed by Western news agencies this week said the “slow-death policy” adopted by Israel with regard to Palestinian prisoners was meant to provoke Palestinians to start a new uprising. A spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians didn't wish and were not planning to launch a new Intifada, adding that Israeli behaviour was creating a lot of tension. According to reliable sources in the West Bank, there are currently two potential causes that might exacerbate the present tension: First, the possible death of Samer Issawi, a Palestinian inmate who has been on an off-again, on-again hunger strike for several months. His lawyer this week said his client was in “a very, very serious condition” and that “his heart could stop beating at any moment.” The same impression was echoed by Qaraqei. However, none of these alarm bells seemed to have had any effect on Israeli officials who failed to transfer the veteran hunger striker to hospital let alone release him. Issawi is demanding an end to the Israeli policy of holding Palestinians behind bars for prolonged periods reaching 10 or even 12 years without charge or trial. The Israeli response — or absence of response — seems to have convinced most Palestinians that Israel is “hell-bent” on seeing Palestinian inmates head to their graves rather than see their demands met. The other potential factor that might trigger violence is the possibility of another encroachment by Messianic Jewish settlers on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Government-backed Jewish fanatics seemed determined to provoke Muslims by seeking so-called “prayer rights” at the exclusively Muslim sanctuary. Muslim leaders in Palestine and abroad reject Israeli attempts to gain such access, saying Al-Aqsa is the ultimate red line and that any violation of its sanctity by millenarian Jews would cause an unimaginable conflagration in the region and the world. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry held inconclusive talks with Israeli officials over the possible resumption of stalled peace negotiations with the PA. Earlier, Kerry held talks with PA President Abbas in Amman. However, the talks, according to PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, didn't carry any promise for a breakthrough. Some news reports suggested earlier that Israel might drop a key demand that the PA recognise Israel as a Jewish state, which is interpreted as ceding the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees uprooted from their homes at the hands of Jewish gangs in 1948. However, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly reiterated this demand in the latest round of talks with Kerry. One Palestinian official who is following up recent American diplomatic efforts downplayed these efforts, saying they were merely a replay of past American efforts. “We are once again hearing the same stuff that we had heard from Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Madeline Albright,” said the official, referring to the last three American secretaries of state before Kerry.
