JEDDAH, 28 June — Islamic foreign ministers meeting in the West African state of Mali yesterday called on the international community to pressure Israel into releasing a wounded Palestinian arrested on the border with Jordan while on his way to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
Jameel Abdullah Nawawreh, 33, was among a group 16 Palestinians wounded by Israeli bullets and on their way to the Kingdom for treatment. Israeli occupation authorities prevented him from crossing the King Abdullah Bridge from West Bank to Jordan.
The foreign ministers condemned the Israeli action as a violation of human rights. They called on the United Nations secretary-general, US secretary of state, European Union coordinator for foreign policy, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations to secure Al-Nawawreh’s release from Israeli detention and allow him to travel to Saudi Arabia for treatment.
The remaining 15 Palestinians, including two small children, flew into King Abdul Aziz International Airport in the early hours yesterday on board Royal Jordanian and Egypt Air fights. They have been shifted to Al-Maghrabi and the Saudi German hospitals for treatment.
The group represents the first batch of 50 wounded Palestinians who will receive treatment in the Kingdom under a special program financed from Al-Aqsa and Intifada funds being managed by the Islamic Development Bank. The two private hospitals will bear the cost of treatment while travel and accommodation expenses will be met from the funds. Most of the victims had head injuries suffered under the repressive shoot-to-kill policy of Israeli occupation forces.
IDB President Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali commended the two hospitals for their assistance. He urged other Saudi medical institutions to come forward in support of the project. Saudi Arabia has already treated 102 Palestinians wounded in the intifada.
