Hawzah News Agency (Occupied Palestine) - A heartbreaking report by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has laid bare the story of 22-year old Jalal Sharafi, who died last month when his urgent application to transfer to an Israeli hospital for a bone marrow transplant was delayed.

According to Levy, Jalal’s life could probably have been saved if the Civil Administration in the territories had allowed him to be moved to an Israeli hospital on time.

Jalal was an otherwise healthy young man who was stricken with an unknown illness in mid-March – he felt weak, his skin was pale, he was worried that it might be cancer.

So his father, 47-year old Nasser Sharafi, immediately brought him to the Inodnesian Hospital in Gaza, where he works as head of the Maintenance Department.

Jalal, who just graduated from Al-Quds University in the Department of Education and planned to become a teacher, on July 16th became the latest victim of the Israeli military government that rules every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli officials attempted to put the blame on the Palestinian Authority for having recently announced that they will no longer coordinate the Israeli military’s obtuse and difficult permit process on their behalf. But the Palestinian Authority officials say the blame lies squarely on Israel, which has maintained its brutal and despicable martial law over the Palestinian Territories since occupying the Territories with its military in 1967.

In his article, Levy detailed the process that led to Jalal’s premature and preventable death:

He writes, [Jalal] “was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a disease in which the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells, of all varieties. Sharafi’s doctors promised him that he would not die; his disease could be treated…

“From that day, March 23, until the day he died, Sharafi remained in Rantisi Hospital. His immune system became impaired and there was concern of infections.

“He received all of the treatment Rantisi could provide, but his body did not respond and his condition did not improve. A few weeks later, the hospital reached the conclusion that only a bone-marrow transplant could save him. On May 4, Sharafi was given a referral by the hospital for a transplant at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. His condition begin to deteriorate, he had a constant high fever, but overall the situation was still not dire.

“On July 7, Sharafi was told that he had an appointment for further diagnosis and a bone-marrow transplant at Sheba on July 12. He and his family looked forward to the day eagerly. They had heard that Sheba was one of Israel’s biggest hospitals and hoped its staff would save his life. Like all young Gazans, Sharafi had never been outside the Strip; his whole life had been spent between Gaza City and Rafah.