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No exit for Gazan patients? (Archive)
Photo: Reuters

High Court to State: Allow 4 sick Gazans to pass through Israel

Court gives state one week to respond to petition in name of 11 terminally-ill patients from Gaza requesting passage through Israel for medical treatment. Court judges tell state it has no right to deny access to life-saving treatment

The High Court of Justice requested Thursday that the state grant four terminally sick Gazans unhindered passage to Jordan via Israel. In their decision, the judges wrote that "even if we were dealing with wicked people- no one has any right to prevent them from gaining access to life-saving treatment."

 

The decision was delivered in the case of a petition presented by Doctors for Human Rights, which asked the state to allow 11 terminally ill patients to be treated in Israel, or to pass through for treatment in West Bank, Egypt, or Jordan. Since the petition reached the court, one of the patients, 21 year-old Na'al al-Kurdi, passed away. After a two and a half week delay, the court asked the state to examine the possibility of treating the patients in Israel or in a neighboring state.

 

Furthermore, the judges wrote that "our basic approach to this petition is not to be required to tackle at this point the basic questions of principle on the legal stance of Israel vis-à-vis Gaza after the disengagement. On the contrary, we are dealing with state policy, which entails the issue of saving lives."

 

The judges did not deliver a final verdict in the case, but only asked the state to probe the issue and set a week limit for the latter to respond in full to the court's suggestion.

 

The court also refuted the distinction the state made between cases it deemed "life-saving" and "quality-of-life" regarding permitting treatment in Israel. Regardless, the court did not discuss the Israel's fundamental obligation vis-à-vis sick residents of the Gaza Strip.

 

Members of Doctors for Human Rights welcomed the court's acceptance of the principle that it is forbidden to deny medical treatment because of security obstacles.

 

"We have to follow up and verify that the patients are granted passage as the court asked the state, because between declarations and quotidian reality lies a considerable distance," and organization spokesman said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.29.07, 22:54
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