Israeli authorities have once again refused to perform urgent surgery for Palestinian prisoner Israa Jaabis to help her breathe through her nose, Quds Press reported.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Ahrar movement, Yasser Khalaf, told Quds Press that the Israeli decision “reflects the extent of its criminality, ugliness, and disregard for her life.”

Israa, 38, from the village of Jabal Al-Mukaber, south of occupied Jerusalem is a married mother of one.

In 2016 an Israeli court sentenced her to 11 years in prison on allegations of attempted murder for allegedly blowing up her car near an Israeli military checkpoint. The car accident left her completely disfigured, with first-, second- and third-degree burns on 50 per cent of her body. Israa can’t breathe through her nose because of the burns on her face. She also needs surgery to separate her burnt fingers, skin grafts and another operation to separate her ears from her skull after burnt and fused to her head, her sister Mona said.

Israa was en-route to her home in Jerusalem on 10 October 2015, one day before the final submission of her research project for the Special Education module. Her car caught fire abruptly due to a technical glitch, 500 metres from the Al-Zayyim military checkpoint in Jerusalem. The Israeli soldiers nearby pointed their guns at her even though she was engulfed in flames.

According to Israa’s lawyer, a gas cylinder blew up in her car, following which she rushed out of her vehicle screaming for help. However, she was answered with the barrel of a rifle and yelling from an Israeli officer: “Drop the knife.” Israa laid her burning body on the asphalt for 15 minutes, waiting for help. But, in the end, she was arrested.

Israeli forces accused Israa of  attempted murder. No evidence was presented and she vehemently denied the charges.

Source: Middle East Monitor