“I Want to Live”: Israeli Authorities Deny Dying Young Cancer Patient Access to Care

By Mohammed Omer


	At his funeral, Mahmoud Abu Taha’s mother, Umm Hani, and sister Asma’a hold pictures of the young man who died en route to an Israeli hospital (Photo M. Omer).

Frail, a mere ghost of a youth, 20-year-old Mahmoud Abu Taha lay listlessly in a Gaza hospital room, nurses helpless to assist. The strain of his illness and uncertain future was etched on the faces of his family members who surrounded his bed.

Diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year, the young man’s life had been taken over by the disease. Merely raising his head or speaking required all his energy. “It hurts,” he whispered when asked how he’s doing. “I feel pain in every part of my body.”

Having lost one-third of his body weight in the months since his diagnosis, Abu Taha was unable to walk or stand. The lack of vitamins, essential nutrients and medications in Gaza due to the closure of its borders meant that even the most basic treatments are unavailable to him. In August doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to his small intestines.

The U.S.- and EU-backed and Israeli-enforced siege of Gaza continues to devastate the healthcare system, depriving hospitals and clinics of medications, supplies and equipment—not to mention the absence of basic necessities such as food, water and electricity, denied to all Gazans. Those who require medical care must seek treatment in Egypt, Jordan or Israel, with Israel being the closest. Regardless of their destination, however, all must overcome one major obstacle: permission from Israel to leave Gaza.

The first attempt by aid workers, physicians, and Abu Taha’s friends and family members to secure papers for the chronically ill youth failed because, according to an Israeli army official, he had been deemed a “security risk.” Two subsequent attempts also failed, with no explanation given.

Of course, the denial of passage for critically ill Palestinians represents the norm rather than the exception to Israeli control of Gaza’s borders. According to a coordinator with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, six such patients currently are awaiting Israeli permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment. Most have cancer or require heart surgery, but one is a young girl whose neck was broken in a car accident. She has been denied passage to a hospital with a trauma unit.

“At least three patients denied exit permits have died since June,” a spokesperson for Human Rights Watch noted, “and others have lost limbs or sight.”

But Abu Taha’s family refused to give up. A fourth attempt finally yielded the necessary papers and permits from the Israeli Army Coordination and Liaison Administration at Erez Crossing to transfer the teen to Tel HaShomer hospital in Tel Aviv—a mere hour’s drive away.

On Oct. 18, 2007, their papers in order, Abu Taha’s 58-year-old father, Kamal, accompanied his son in an ambulance to the Erez Crossing. All appeared to be proceeding well when, after a half-hour wait, the father heard his name called over the loudspeaker. Mahmoud’s brother Hani continued the saga.

“My brother continued to wait, lying on a stretcher receiving a transfusion and hooked up to an oxygen tank in the ambulance,” Hani said. “After two hours, the loudspeaker announced he was denied entry into Israel.”

Forced to turn around, the ambulance transporting its young cancer patient returned to the hospital in Gaza. Mahmoud’s father, however, was detained at Erez. A few days later, Hani received a phone call informing him that their father had been arrested by Shin Bet. Palestinian sources have since confirmed that Kamal Abu Taha was transferred to Israel’s Ashkelon prison. No reason for his arrest was given.

Another cancer patient’s father had a similar experience. When Mohammad Al Najjar’s 20-year-old daughter’s condition recently worsened and he attempted to escort her to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, where she previously had been treated, the Israeli army official at Erez conditioned their passage on the father’s becoming a collaborator for the Israeli military. He refused, and his daughter was denied entry to Israel and the medical attention she needed.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud’s time continued to run out. “I want to live,” the young man pleaded, his voice wavering under the strain. “I don’t want to die.”

Finally, on Oct. 29, his family received assurances from the Israelis that Mahmoud would be allowed to pass through Erez. When the ambulance transporting him once again arrived at the Israeli-controlled border, however, it was kept waiting for eight hours, according to a spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights.

When it finally was allowed to cross into Israel, it was too late to save the young Palestinian’s life. Mahmoud Abu Taha died en route to the hospital—having spent his final weeks of life suffering not only because of his disease, but from the political whims of a hostile and inhumane occupier.—M.O.