A senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official on Friday accused Israel of practicing blackmail and bargaining in the issue of sick prisoners imprisoned in its jails.

PNA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Eassa Qaraqea' said in a written press statement sent to reporters that Israel practices the policy of blackmail by bargaining sick prisoners to choose either treatment or deportation abroad.

"There are 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who suffer from different fatal diseases, including 18 who suffer from cancers," said Qaraqea', adding "19 sick prisoners have died in jail since the year 2000."

According to Palestinian official figures, Israel holds more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza in its 25 jails, prisoners and detention camps. Most of them were arrested since the breakout of the Palestinian Intifada in Sept. 2000.

"Israel has been practicing a policy of blackmailing the sick prisoners by asking them whether to die in jail or be deported out of the Palestinian territories," said Qaraqea'.

He added that his ministry managed to get testimonies of several sick prisoners proving that Israeli doctors and internal security interrogators were involved in blackmailing the prisoners.

Qaraqea' called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to follow up and seriously consider these testimonies, adding that the ICRC representatives should hear from prisoners themselves.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2010)