Report: Fence hurts Palestinian sick
Doctors for Human Rights Association: Israel prevents east Jerusalem residents from receiving medical treatment; since roadblocks were set up in entrances to Jerusalem, many patients forced to give up on treatment, report says
Israel is undermining the Palestinians' health situation and Palestinian hospitals in east Jerusalem, a new report published Wednesday by the Doctors for Human Rights Association charged.
"The separation wall disconnects the Palestinian population in the West Bank from the first medical center in the occupied territories – the east Jerusalem hospitals, and places the hospitals' existence in danger," the report said.
A wide variety of medical services are provided in east Jerusalem, including oncological treatments, open heart surgery, heart surgery for children, eye surgery and orthopedics.
According to the report, east Jerusalem has been disconnected from the rest of the territories over the years, and this separation reached a peak once the West Bank security fence was built.
"Since roadblocks were set up in the entrances to the city at the end of 2000, and more acutely once the separation wall was built from the north, the east and the south, the number of patients who have managed to reach hospitals in the city has dropped significantly. Many of them are forced to give up on the treatment they need, or else make their way to other West Bank cities," the report said.
The phenomenon is especially noticeable in east Jerusalem suburbs. Residents of the village of a-Ram relied on the east Jerusalem services, but are now forced to travel to other Palestinian cities in order to receive medical treatment.
‘Sick pay price’
The forced separation between hospitals and their patients has had a most negative effect on hospitals, to the extent that their existence is under threat, says the report.
For example, the number of patients from Gaza and the West Bank treated in east Jerusalem has drastically reduced from 344,172 in 2002 to 177,500 in 2003. The number continues to drop.
The report concluded that the "solution" provided by the army's civilian administration has been a failure.
The number of Palestinians who require medical treatment is much higher than the number of people who received authorization for such treatment. There have also been incidents where hospital crews have not received authorization, further curbing the ability of east Jerusalem hospitals to operate.
The report states that "hospitals cannot function without patients, and patients will suffer from being prevented access to hospitals. The result will be damage to all levels discussed in the report. The report therefore recommends political, economic, and medical support for these hospitals so that they will not fall victim to the policies of Israel."
The report concludes: "It seems the ill are the ones who again pay the price for the political hopes of the Israeli government, which expects to safeguard its control of east Jerusalem, which was illegally annexed after the 1967 War."
