Barak orders evacuation of injured Palestinians to hospitals
Defense minister instructs IDF to enable paramedics to administer treatment to injured Palestinians at Erez crossing, allow ambulances to evacuate those in need of hospital treatment to Israel
The move is meant as a goodwill gesture and a humanitarian act.
The number of people currently at the crossing is still unclear. According to the Palestinians, there are some 150 refugees at the place, half of them Fatah members and the other half West Bank residents who seek to return to their homes.
A Fatah activist who is staying at the crossing named Rafaat, told Ynet that the IDF has already started allowing refugees passage into the Israeli side in groups of five. The refugees were required to strip almost completely naked before the passage, in order to make sure they were not carrying arms.
According to Rafaat, the Israeli forces have started allowing West Bank residents who were in Gaza during Hamas' takeover to cross into the Israeli side on their way back to the West Bank. "We hope that our turn will come soon and that we will be let in," he said.
Palestinians ordered to strip before entering Israel (Photo: AP)
Rafaat claimed that the lives of Fatah operatives and members of the security forces who are at the crossing would be in danger if they were not allowed passage to the West Bank. He added that the people waiting at Erez were suffering from terrible conditions. "The situation here is harder than can be described, and we hope that it will be resolved soon."
Meanwhile, the High Court of Justice is scheduled to discuss a petition filed by human rights organizations Wednesday demanding that sick and seriously injured Palestinians who are waiting at the Erez crossing be allowed entry into Israel for life-saving treatment.
Filed by Gisha and Physicians for Human Rights, the petition claimed that "at least 26 injured and sick people have been diagnosed as facing imminent danger to their lives if they are not immediately evacuated to receive treatment in Israel."
The State Prosecution asked the court to reject the petition, saying that the responsibility for the Palestinians' health lies with the Palestinian Authority, and not the State of Israel. The prosecution added that in the lack of counterparts in Gaza with which to coordinate the refugees' entry, the process would be very difficult to implement.
Hanan Greenberg, Aviram Zino, Ali Waked and Moran Rada contributed to the report
