The Palestinian population does not have sufficient accessibility to health and medical care institutions in the Palestinian territories, according to recent reports drawn-up by the international Medicins du Monde [MDM-Doctors of the World] – and the Israeli-based organization Physicians for Human Rights [PHR].
The organizations also protested against the lack of protection of medical institutions and personnel.
MDM has been in the Palestinian territories since 1995, trying to respond to the negative impact the violent escalation in the region has had on Palestinian population, especially since September 2000. Its general purpose is to overcome medical and sanitary deficiencies inflicted by restrictions on the population’s free passage.
The organization pointed out a number of restrictions imposed on the Palestinian population by Israeli security forces such as blocking passage of ambulances at checkpoints; roadblocks between Palestinian communities which block free passage for sick and wounded people or pregnant women to healthcare centers; restrictions on access of medical personnel and health care vehicles to Palestinian patients; and difficulties in supplying medicines and medical equipment.
The MDM report said, “Obstacles to the free movement of civilians…have direct medical consequences such as ambulance delays, limitation or denial of access to medical facilities for the population, inability of medical teams to reach their hospitals and blockage of fresh medical supplies.”
A separate report from Physicians for Human Rights elaborated on the permit policy in the West Bank. Since September 2000, Israel’s security forces have placed physical barriers both within the Palestinian territories and separating them from pre-1967 Israel. Travel within Palestinian communities requires permits from the Israeli civil administration.
The organization protested against Israel’s policy of restricting freedom of passage within Palestinian territories, which it claims has caused economic paralysis and has altered the routine life of Palestinians.
Blandine Contamin, general coordinator of MDM, said the checkpoints, curfews and denial of access have direct psychological and physical impact on the health of the civilian population, and that medical services in military zones are not protected.
The organization aims to increase awareness of Israeli and international society and institutions of the situation “and to remind the Israeli defense forces that their actions should respect international humanitarian law,” Contamin said.
Hazel Siri, medical coordinator of MDM cited articles 16 and 17 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which state that the sick and wounded must be respected and their transportation to healthcare must be permitted. Furthermore, she said that international law specifies that medical personnel and equipment must be guaranteed free passage.
Israel, however, claims Palestinians exploit humanitarian cases for terror. In March 2002, a Red Crescent ambulance driver was found transporting weapons for terrorist activity in an ambulance. According to the Israel Defense Forces [IDF], the driver, who later pleaded guilty to the charges, had transported guns and explosive belts intended to be used by Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah. He had placed the explosive belt under the stretcher in the ambulance and a battery on the ambulance monitor.
With regard to the abuse of checkpoints and easing of security restrictions, the IDF told The Media Line that, “The conduct of Palestinian terror in contrast with Israel’s goodwill to assist the Palestinian population is particularly apparent considering that during the Rama’dan, a holy month for Muslims, Israel allowed a special easing of restrictions.” These measures include permitting additional food trucks to enter Palestinian territories to alleviate the breaking of the traditional fast, and issuing additional permits for those who wish to pray on the Temple Mount. “The terror organizations, on their side, declared Rama’dan a month of holy war and they increased their efforts to perpetrate terror attacks against Israeli civilians,” the IDF spokesman added.
Although the threat of using medical equipment can and has been exploited in the past, both organizations condemn the measures taken by the IDF to contend with this threat. “What has been happening to Palestinian ambulances in the West Bank cannot in any way be justified,” said Miri Weingarten, a coordinator of PHR in the Palestinian territories. She said the organization is willing to accept that ambulances should be opened and examined at checkpoints, but not to be held up for hours, “and not for the entire medical service to be undermined simply because of such a risk.”
PHR appealed to the Israeli civil administration after a number of Palestinians in need of urgent medical care were held up at a checkpoint for several hours. According to PHR, the administration admitted to a “sweeping restriction of all ambulances by definition, despite the fact that this is in opposition even to Israeli regulations, according to which even in times of closure curfew, urgent and humanitarian cases must always be allowed.”
Weingarten said the response of the Israeli authorities is usually for security considerations, but that Israel is willing to cross many red lines to ensure the safety of Israelis.
“These restrictions which we see daily are usually not the kind you can tie to security considerations,” Weingarten said. “When you have a physical roadblock…like trenches on the road, a healthy person can cross this on foot and enter Israel if he or she really wants to, but it is the sick and the old and the weak who cannot cross these obstacles.”