Palestinian high-school student Fida Hejji died of cancer waiting for Israeli permission to go to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
Hejji, 18, was promised an entry permit three times. Three days after she died last November, her family got a call to say the hospital had set the date for her admission.
One year after Israel’s offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza, UN agencies and the Association for International Development Agencies (AIDA), representing more than 80 NGOs, yesterday highlighted the health impact of the continuing blockade there.
PHOTO: REUTERS
They again called on Israel to relax its tight control of the Gaza Strip’s borders to allow in a sufficient supply of essential items and access to care not available in the enclave.
Max Gaylard, resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said the blockade undermines the local health care system and puts lives at risk.
“It is causing on-going deterioration in the social, economic and environmental determinants of health,” he said.
“It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and it is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment,” he said.
Israel generally permits supplies of drugs into Gaza but not always enough to prevent shortages. Certain medical equipment such as x-ray and electronic devices are difficult to bring in and clinical staff frequently lack equipment they need.
Israel says most requests by Gazan patients to cross its border for treatment are approved, and that there has been a 25 percent increase in approvals since 2008 — data supported by World Health Organization findings issued by Gaylard’s office.
“Not only are we doing our utmost to allow the people of Gaza every possible medical treatment, but we are doing this in a situation in which their own government is imposing a state of war and trying deliberately to harm Israelis, including those whose mission is to assist the very people of Gaza,” said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
“Not taking this into account is to do a great disservice to truth and the cause of caring for the health of Gaza residents,” he said.
The UN report said 1,103 patients sought permits for treatment in Israel last month.
Most succeeded but 21 percent were denied or delayed, as a result of which patients missed their hospital appointments and had to restart.
Meanwhile, critics say Israel is arresting a growing number of prominent opponents to its policies toward the Palestinians, trying to crush legitimate dissent.
In the most high-profile case yet, Jerusalem police detained the leader of a leading Israeli human rights group during a vigil against the eviction of Palestinian families whose homes were taken by Jewish settlers.
Since the summer, dozens of Palestinian and Israeli activists have been picked up, including those organizing weekly protests against Israel’s West Bank separation barrier as well as others advocating international boycotts of Israeli goods.
Some of the Palestinians were released without charge only after weeks and months of questioning.
In east Jerusalem, police have arrested some 70 demonstrators during marches in recent months, Israeli rights groups say.
At Friday’s protest, police arrested 17 Israelis, including Hagai Elad, head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
They were released 36 hours later by a Jerusalem court, which found the gathering to be illegal, but the arrests unnecessary.
Elad said the arrests represent a “dramatic increase in attempts to silence dissent” that he believes began during last year’s offensive in Gaza, when Israel arrested hundreds of anti-war protesters, mostly Arab citizens of Israel.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld dismissed allegations of an arrest campaign and said recent protests in east Jerusalem did not have the required permits.
“There’s no campaign whatsoever,” he said. “When there’s a right wing or left wing, or Jewish or non-Jewish or Christian or Muslim demonstration ... they have to be fully coordinated with the police.”
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