Palestinians Threaten Israel if Prisoner Dies of Cancer

“Prepare the rifles… We’ll declare war… This is a threat,” Fatah threatened. 

By Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch

Nasser Abu Hmeid is a Palestinian terrorist prisoner serving seven life sentences for his part in the murder of seven Israelis during the Palestinian Authority’s five-year terror campaign, the Second Intifada. He was a commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing).

Abu Hmeid is now sick with lung cancer, and although he is being treated in an Israeli hospital, the PA and its ruling Fatah party, led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, are demanding that Israel grant him an early release from prison.

If Israel doesn’t give in, Fatah is threatening Israel with “war” and terror.

Fatah uploaded the following “warning” and “threat” given in the name of Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – which is an internationally designated terror organization. Fatah promises to “burn the world” and “redeem” Abu Hmeid “with their blood” if he dies. It “declares war” and calls on Palestinians to “prepare the rifles”:

Speaker: “If something happens to Nasser (i.e., responsible for murder of 7), we will burn the world
Our prisoners are a red line, for their sake we will die
Here the [Al-Aqsa Martyrs’] Brigades (i.e., Fatah’s military wing) have risen up and waved their rifles…
You are not alone Nasser, we are all with you
Rise up from the coma and return, we beg of you
The homeland still needs you, [Nasser] Abu Hmeid, O precious one
Nasser, you are like our homeland – we will redeem you with our blood
Armed people, get ready and prepare the rifles
The battle is with the settlers, the army, and the Israeli Security Agency –
If Nasser goes, a revolution will ignite in the land
We’ll declare war and march, just as you marched.
Warning!
A warning from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ [Brigades]! Yes, this is a threat:
You have experienced a few bullets, and our rifles are lethal”

                                   [Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Jan. 18, 2022]

Palestinian Media Watch has reported that the PA regularly makes false claims that Israel abuses Palestinian prisoners through medical neglect, medical experiments, and by intentionally infecting them with diseases, such as Covid-19. The PA claims that Israel caused Abu Hmeid’s cancer as well,

Despite security concerns, Israel allowed Abu Hmeid’s mother to visit him in hospital.

Abu Hmeid, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing) in Ramallah, was responsible for the murder of: Eli Cohen in a shooting attack on Route 443 in central Israel on Dec. 21, 2000; Binyamin and Talia Kahane in a drive-by shooting attack near Ofra, north of Jerusalem, on Dec. 31, 2000; Gadi Rejwan in a shooting attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Atarot on Feb. 27, 2002; and Yosef Habi, Eli Dahan, and Police Officer Sergeant-Major Salim Barakat in an attack at the Seafood Market and Mifgash Hasteak restaurants in Tel Aviv on March 5, 2002. He is serving seven life sentences and an additional 50 years.

Medical Blood Libel

The PA claims that Israel abuses Palestinian prisoners through medical neglect, medical experiments, and by intentionally infecting them with diseases. However, the International Red Cross regularly visits these prisoners and has not documented nor accused Israel of any of these claims.

Likewise, lists of demands occasionally issued by the prisoners during hunger strikes – such as during one in 2011 – include no demands relating to these claims.

PMW has documented prisoners talking about how they “lack nothing” in the prisons and that “the worst thing about Israeli prison” is riding in a prison vehicle that has no padding on the seat.

When PMW contacted the Israeli Ministry of Health in 2007 regarding PA claims of medical experiments on prisoners, the ministry responded: “Clinical testing on prisoners in prison was never approved, never performed, and is most certainly not taking place at present.”