Israel allows released prisoner to leave for treatment in Jordan

After a two-day delay, Israel Monday allowed former prisoner Naim Shawamreh to leave the West Bank to Jordan for medical treatment, according to officials.Shawamreh, from the Hebron area, suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that causes weakness in the function of the muscles that leads to difficulty in speaking, swallowing and breathing.His health deteriorated during his 19 years in the Israeli prisons. He was released last Monday with the third group of Palestinian prisoners held since before 1994.President Mahmoud Abbas ordered to send Shawamreh to Jordan for treatment after it became clear West Bank hospitals cannot treat his rapidly deteriorating health.Israel first prevented Shawamreh from travelling to Jordan on Sunday, but after intervention from Abbas, it agreed to his travel to continue treatment.