A Palestinian child with leukaemia has been denied access to a life-saving bone marrow transplant by Israel because he is registered as being from Gaza , despite living in the occupied West Bank , according to his family.
Mohammed Abu Assad, who resides in Beitunia west of Ramallah , requires a bone marrow transplant that is not available in the West Bank. However, Israeli authorities have refused to allow him to undergo the procedure because he is listed as a Gaza resident.
His grandfather, Mahmoud Abu Assad, told The New Arab : "Mohammed’s favourite game is to imitate nurses and take blood samples from his grandfather or mother, because he is constantly receiving treatment, especially chemotherapy, and undergoes frequent blood draws from his body."
"The truth is that continuing to give him chemotherapy is destroying his body and affecting his organs, to the point that he temporarily stopped treatment last month because of its impact on his teeth."
Doctors have informed the family that the most effective treatment for Mohammed’s condition is a bone marrow transplant from a relative, but the procedure is unavailable locally.
Palestinians in such cases are typically referred to Israeli hospitals or facilities abroad.
However, because Mohammed was born in Gaza and is registered on his mother’s ID as living there, he has been denied treatment at Israel’s Tel Hashomer hospital, even though the Israeli Supreme Court has previously reviewed his case.
His mother, Maali Abu Assad, said: "My son has been suffering from leukaemia since 2022. Since then, when he was one year and nine months old, he has continued to receive treatment, but his body cannot tolerate it. He cannot walk normally because of the illness and the heavy treatment, and his immunity has declined, so we keep a medical mask on his face most of the time."
"This is difficult because he is a small child, but he suffered a bacterial infection in recent months and fell into a coma for a full month, during which his heart stopped twice," she added.
According to the family, Israeli authorities have rejected five attempts by human rights organisations to secure a permit for Mohammed to access treatment.
They say he is being denied care "because he is from Gaza," which they describe as part of a broader policy of collective punishment against residents of the enclave.
The family now fears that seeking treatment abroad could be too physically demanding for the child, while also raising concerns they may be prevented from returning to the West Bank if they leave.
Mohammed’s father, who died of sarcoma cancer in 2024, had moved to the West Bank and changed his address on his ID. However, his wife and children, who relocated after Mohammed’s illness begam, were unable to do the same.
His mother says she hopes a transplant will give her son a chance at a normal life after speaking to others who underwent the procedure and recovered. She wants him to walk unaided, play with other children, and attend nursery like his peers.
"Anyone holding a Gaza ID card is treated as if they are condemned after 7 October 2023," his grandfather said.
Changing address registration for Gaza-born Palestinians living in the West Bank has become increasingly difficult, with many fearing deportation if stopped at Israeli military checkpoints.
Their situation mirrors that of Palestinians without formal ID who entered the West Bank on visitor permits and must apply for "family reunification" status.
Although agreements allow the Palestinian Authority to process a limited number of such cases annually, Israel halted most approvals after the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
It later approved 50,000 cases in 2008 and thousands more in 2021 following talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials, but the process has since been suspended again.