29 july 2019
The EU has made a contribution of €14.9 million to the Palestinian Authority payment of medical referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals.
This contribution is funded by the EU (€13 million), the Government of Italy (€1 million) and the Government of Finland (€0.9 million). This contribution supports East Jerusalem Hospitals in maintaining critical medical services to Palestinians.
The EU supports the Palestinian Authority since 2012 with regular contributions to the payment of referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals that have reached over €110 million since then. The hospitals are an integral part of the Palestinian healthcare system providing specialized services that cannot be found elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza.
“The Palestinian Authority is facing a serious fiscal crisis that is affecting its ability to deliver services to the Palestinian people. This new joint European contribution will support the Palestinian Authority to meet its obligations towards the East Jerusalem Hospitals and ultimately ensure the continuation of essential health services to the Palestinian patients.
The East Jerusalem Hospitals are providing quality specialized health services hardly available elsewhere in Palestine. They are also among the last Palestinian institutions that are still operational in East Jerusalem. Their work should be supported and maintained “, said the EU Representative Ralph Tarraf.
“The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation is proud to continue its contribution to the PEGASE Program, with a current allocation of 3 MLN EURO for the years 2019 -2021. This contribution is in the framework of the Italian support to the Palestinian Health system, in order to strengthen and increase its ability to provide quality services and to achieve the universal coverage for everybody” stated Ms. Cristina Natoli, Head of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Jerusalem.
Most of the European Union’s assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through PEGASE[1], the financial mechanism launched in 2008 to support the PA Reform and Development Plan and the subsequent Palestinian national plans and agendas. As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood. Since February 2008, over €2.5 billion have been disbursed through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support programmes. In addition, the EU has provided assistance to the Palestinian people through UNRWA and a wide range of cooperation projects.
The East Jerusalem Hospitals serve as the main centres for specialized care within the Palestinian health system. Patients needing services and procedures that are not available in the West Bank and Gaza – such as specialist oncology, renal care and cardiac surgeries – are referred for treatment in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network facilities by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. There are six health institutions in East Jerusalem: Augusta Victoria Hospital, Makassed Hospital, St Joseph Hospital, St John’s Eye Hospital, Palestinian Red Crescent Maternity Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre.
This contribution is funded by the EU (€13 million), the Government of Italy (€1 million) and the Government of Finland (€0.9 million). This contribution supports East Jerusalem Hospitals in maintaining critical medical services to Palestinians.
The EU supports the Palestinian Authority since 2012 with regular contributions to the payment of referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals that have reached over €110 million since then. The hospitals are an integral part of the Palestinian healthcare system providing specialized services that cannot be found elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza.
“The Palestinian Authority is facing a serious fiscal crisis that is affecting its ability to deliver services to the Palestinian people. This new joint European contribution will support the Palestinian Authority to meet its obligations towards the East Jerusalem Hospitals and ultimately ensure the continuation of essential health services to the Palestinian patients.
The East Jerusalem Hospitals are providing quality specialized health services hardly available elsewhere in Palestine. They are also among the last Palestinian institutions that are still operational in East Jerusalem. Their work should be supported and maintained “, said the EU Representative Ralph Tarraf.
“The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation is proud to continue its contribution to the PEGASE Program, with a current allocation of 3 MLN EURO for the years 2019 -2021. This contribution is in the framework of the Italian support to the Palestinian Health system, in order to strengthen and increase its ability to provide quality services and to achieve the universal coverage for everybody” stated Ms. Cristina Natoli, Head of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Jerusalem.
Most of the European Union’s assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through PEGASE[1], the financial mechanism launched in 2008 to support the PA Reform and Development Plan and the subsequent Palestinian national plans and agendas. As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood. Since February 2008, over €2.5 billion have been disbursed through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support programmes. In addition, the EU has provided assistance to the Palestinian people through UNRWA and a wide range of cooperation projects.
The East Jerusalem Hospitals serve as the main centres for specialized care within the Palestinian health system. Patients needing services and procedures that are not available in the West Bank and Gaza – such as specialist oncology, renal care and cardiac surgeries – are referred for treatment in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network facilities by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. There are six health institutions in East Jerusalem: Augusta Victoria Hospital, Makassed Hospital, St Joseph Hospital, St John’s Eye Hospital, Palestinian Red Crescent Maternity Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre.
27 july 2019
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has reported that Israeli soldiers injured, Friday, 71 Palestinians, including 30 children, one medic and three women, after the army attacked the Great Return March processions in the Gaza Strip.
The PCHR said the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the protesters, especially by using live fire against unarmed civilians, protesting along the perimeter fence in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
It stated that 39 of the wounded Palestinians were shot with live fire, including one who suffered life-threatening injuries, and four who sustained moderate-to-serious injuries.
This Friday’s processions came in solidarity with the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and lasted three hours, from 4:30 in the afternoon until 7:30 in the evening.
The PCHR added that the protesters mostly gathered in and around the five protest encampments and were hundreds, and in some cases, dozens of meters away from the perimeter fence, yet, were faced with the excessive use of force by the soldiers who were not in any form of danger.
It also said that, despite Israeli media reports about the open fire regulations when dealing with the Great Return March procession, such as using sniper fire to wound protesters in the lower extremities, the PCHR documented many cases where the Israeli sharpshooters wounded protesters in the chest and upper extremities, causing several injuries, including four that were described as moderate-to-severe.
The PCHR also said that these cases prove that the army has not changed its policies of the excessive use of force against the unarmed protesters.
In addition, the PCHR referred to a report published last Tuesday by the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonot, in which is said that the army has, in recent months, been training the soldiers on a new type of a sniper rifle, which indicates that the military is using the Palestinians as target practice for its weapons, in direct violation of all international laws and regulations, including human rights treaties and International Humanitarian Law.
According to extensive and ongoing PCHR documentation, the Israeli army has killed 207 Palestinians, including 44 children, two women, 9 persons with special needs, four medics and two journalists, in addition to wounding 13323 Palestinians, including 2742 children, 409 women, 221 medics and 207 journalists, since the Great Return March processions started on March 30 2018.
196 of the wounded Palestinians. Including 28 children and 5 women, suffered permanent disabilities. 149 of them suffered amputations as a result of Israeli gunfire, 21 suffered paralysis, 26 lost their hearing or vision, and 9 suffered permanent damage to reproductive organs.
The PCHR said the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the protesters, especially by using live fire against unarmed civilians, protesting along the perimeter fence in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
It stated that 39 of the wounded Palestinians were shot with live fire, including one who suffered life-threatening injuries, and four who sustained moderate-to-serious injuries.
This Friday’s processions came in solidarity with the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and lasted three hours, from 4:30 in the afternoon until 7:30 in the evening.
The PCHR added that the protesters mostly gathered in and around the five protest encampments and were hundreds, and in some cases, dozens of meters away from the perimeter fence, yet, were faced with the excessive use of force by the soldiers who were not in any form of danger.
It also said that, despite Israeli media reports about the open fire regulations when dealing with the Great Return March procession, such as using sniper fire to wound protesters in the lower extremities, the PCHR documented many cases where the Israeli sharpshooters wounded protesters in the chest and upper extremities, causing several injuries, including four that were described as moderate-to-severe.
The PCHR also said that these cases prove that the army has not changed its policies of the excessive use of force against the unarmed protesters.
In addition, the PCHR referred to a report published last Tuesday by the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonot, in which is said that the army has, in recent months, been training the soldiers on a new type of a sniper rifle, which indicates that the military is using the Palestinians as target practice for its weapons, in direct violation of all international laws and regulations, including human rights treaties and International Humanitarian Law.
According to extensive and ongoing PCHR documentation, the Israeli army has killed 207 Palestinians, including 44 children, two women, 9 persons with special needs, four medics and two journalists, in addition to wounding 13323 Palestinians, including 2742 children, 409 women, 221 medics and 207 journalists, since the Great Return March processions started on March 30 2018.
196 of the wounded Palestinians. Including 28 children and 5 women, suffered permanent disabilities. 149 of them suffered amputations as a result of Israeli gunfire, 21 suffered paralysis, 26 lost their hearing or vision, and 9 suffered permanent damage to reproductive organs.
22 july 2019
Dozens of Palestinian citizens, including a paramedic, suffered injuries during violent clashes with Israeli police forces in Issawiya district, east of Occupied Jerusalem.
According to the Red Crescent, police forces assaulted ambulance crews and prevented them from evacuating wounded citizens to hospitals. One Red Crescent reportedly suffered a rubber bullet injury during the events. video video video
WAFA news agency said that police forces brutally assaulted many citizens, used pepper spray against them and arrested some of them, including a young man identified as Rami Obeid. video video
Cars and homes also sustained material damage as a result of the intensive use of tear gas and stun grenades and bullets during the events.
Earlier, the Israeli occupation police intensified the presence of their forces near the Bab al-Rahma area of the Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Awqaf Authority in Jerusalem, said that scores of Muslim worshipers performed the Ishaa prayer at the Aqsa Mosque and the Bab al-Rahma area despite the Israeli police measures.
According to the Red Crescent, police forces assaulted ambulance crews and prevented them from evacuating wounded citizens to hospitals. One Red Crescent reportedly suffered a rubber bullet injury during the events. video video video
WAFA news agency said that police forces brutally assaulted many citizens, used pepper spray against them and arrested some of them, including a young man identified as Rami Obeid. video video
Cars and homes also sustained material damage as a result of the intensive use of tear gas and stun grenades and bullets during the events.
Earlier, the Israeli occupation police intensified the presence of their forces near the Bab al-Rahma area of the Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Awqaf Authority in Jerusalem, said that scores of Muslim worshipers performed the Ishaa prayer at the Aqsa Mosque and the Bab al-Rahma area despite the Israeli police measures.
21 july 2019
Hamza Abu Eltarabesh is a journalist from Gaza.
Nobody in Gaza is exempt from being an Israeli target. Luck is the only thing that saves anyone here from being killed.
The medic Muhammad al-Judaili ran out of luck.
On 3 May, he was working at the Great March of Return – weekly protests to demand that the rights of Palestine’s refugees be fully respected. He was next to an ambulance parked approximately 100 meters from the fence separating Gaza and Israel when he saw that a child had been shot in the arm.
Muhammad rushed toward the child, with the intention of administering first aid. Before he could do so, Muhammad had himself fallen to the ground. An Israeli sniper had shot him in the nose with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
He was taken to al-Quds hospital in southern Gaza, where he had previously worked. After three weeks, he was discharged so that he could celebrate Eid with his family in al-Bureij refugee camp.
While he was in his apartment, Muhammad lost consciousness. He was brought back to the hospital, where his heart stopped for minutes.
Although doctors succeeded in reviving his heart, he remained in a coma. His medical team was concerned that his brain would be damaged as a result of his injury.
On 4 June, Muhammad was transferred to al-Ahli hospital in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank. Six days later, he died. He was 36 years old.
“I never expected to be a widow and have the burden of raising four children alone,” said his wife Muna Shurrab. “Muhammad had a big heart that loved us all.”
Muhammad’s 10-year-old son Adel recalled how they had gone shopping together at Eid.
“We were very happy,” Adel said. “We thought we had our normal life back.”
“Duty”
Muhammad was the fourth medic in Gaza to have been killed since the Great March of Return began last year.
One such killing – that of the nurse Razan al-Najjar – received some coverage in the international media.
Yet the violence inflicted by Israel on medics has generally been met with indifference by Western governments.
Gaza’s health ministry argues that the killing of medics has been deliberate. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said Israel aimed at the victims “directly in the head or chest.”
Ahmad Abu Foul witnessed the shooting of his colleague Muhammad al-Judaili. The two men had worked together on numerous occasions.
When Abu Foul was injured by Israel during Operation Cast Lead – a major attack in late 2008 and early 2009 – it was Muhammad who gave him first aid.
Abu Foul has himself been wounded four times since the Great March of Return began last year. One week before Muhammad received his fatal injury, Abu Foul was shot in the leg.
Despite the danger that he faces, Abu Foul has pledged to continue his work. “It’s a duty,” he said. “I don’t deserve to be killed for doing what I do.”
He was also part of a medical crew targeted with a missile fired from an Israeli drone during Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza at this time five years ago. “It is a miracle that we survived,” he said.
Bravery
Ali Saqir, a shoe shop owner, was a neighbor and close friend of Muhammad al-Judaili. He recalled Muhammad’s bravery during Israel’s 2014 attack.
When al-Bureij camp came under Israeli fire, Saqir called Muhammad asking for help in evacuating its residents. Although Muhammad was working in another part of Gaza at the time and road journeys were extremely dangerous, he insisted on bringing an ambulance to al-Bureij so that he could aid his neighbors.
On another day during the 2014 attack, Muhammad was working in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza. Israel had destroyed homes in the area and many of those displaced had gathered around an ambulance in desperation.
The Israeli forces ordered that the people move away from the ambulance. But Muhammad disobeyed the order and drove away quickly, the ambulance full of people.
As the ambulance departed, the Israeli forces fired a missile in its direction. “Luckily, Muhammad managed to swerve away and he survived, along with his passengers,” said Saqir.
“The first time I felt helpless”The fifth anniversary of the 2014 attack brings back painful memories for Gaza’s medics.
In total, 23 Palestinian health workers were killed [pdf] during that offensive, 16 of them while on duty. The medics who survived have, in many cases, had to cope with bereavement.
Basem al-Batsh works for Gaza’s civil defense department. Late in the evening of 29 July 2014, he received a phone call to say that Israel was bombarding Jabaliya refugee camp, where he lived.
Basem set out for home. Yet when he got to the entrance of his neighborhood, it was impossible to venture any farther.
Israel was firing missiles “at everything that moved,” he said. “I could see my family running in the street, fleeing the house.”
The extended al-Batsh family lived in a multi-story building. As they tried to escape, the Israeli forces attacked them.
Five members of the family were killed. Among them were Basem’s mother Halima. “I watched my mother dying,” he said. “At that moment, Israel killed me as well.”
Once he felt safe enough to move, Basem took his mother’s body and placed it in the back of the ambulance.
“I sat in the front seat and couldn’t look in the back at my mother’s body,” he said. “It was the first time I felt helpless. I’m a paramedic and a civil defenseman, who couldn’t save the life of his mother.”
~Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
Nobody in Gaza is exempt from being an Israeli target. Luck is the only thing that saves anyone here from being killed.
The medic Muhammad al-Judaili ran out of luck.
On 3 May, he was working at the Great March of Return – weekly protests to demand that the rights of Palestine’s refugees be fully respected. He was next to an ambulance parked approximately 100 meters from the fence separating Gaza and Israel when he saw that a child had been shot in the arm.
Muhammad rushed toward the child, with the intention of administering first aid. Before he could do so, Muhammad had himself fallen to the ground. An Israeli sniper had shot him in the nose with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
He was taken to al-Quds hospital in southern Gaza, where he had previously worked. After three weeks, he was discharged so that he could celebrate Eid with his family in al-Bureij refugee camp.
While he was in his apartment, Muhammad lost consciousness. He was brought back to the hospital, where his heart stopped for minutes.
Although doctors succeeded in reviving his heart, he remained in a coma. His medical team was concerned that his brain would be damaged as a result of his injury.
On 4 June, Muhammad was transferred to al-Ahli hospital in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank. Six days later, he died. He was 36 years old.
“I never expected to be a widow and have the burden of raising four children alone,” said his wife Muna Shurrab. “Muhammad had a big heart that loved us all.”
Muhammad’s 10-year-old son Adel recalled how they had gone shopping together at Eid.
“We were very happy,” Adel said. “We thought we had our normal life back.”
“Duty”
Muhammad was the fourth medic in Gaza to have been killed since the Great March of Return began last year.
One such killing – that of the nurse Razan al-Najjar – received some coverage in the international media.
Yet the violence inflicted by Israel on medics has generally been met with indifference by Western governments.
Gaza’s health ministry argues that the killing of medics has been deliberate. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said Israel aimed at the victims “directly in the head or chest.”
Ahmad Abu Foul witnessed the shooting of his colleague Muhammad al-Judaili. The two men had worked together on numerous occasions.
When Abu Foul was injured by Israel during Operation Cast Lead – a major attack in late 2008 and early 2009 – it was Muhammad who gave him first aid.
Abu Foul has himself been wounded four times since the Great March of Return began last year. One week before Muhammad received his fatal injury, Abu Foul was shot in the leg.
Despite the danger that he faces, Abu Foul has pledged to continue his work. “It’s a duty,” he said. “I don’t deserve to be killed for doing what I do.”
He was also part of a medical crew targeted with a missile fired from an Israeli drone during Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza at this time five years ago. “It is a miracle that we survived,” he said.
Bravery
Ali Saqir, a shoe shop owner, was a neighbor and close friend of Muhammad al-Judaili. He recalled Muhammad’s bravery during Israel’s 2014 attack.
When al-Bureij camp came under Israeli fire, Saqir called Muhammad asking for help in evacuating its residents. Although Muhammad was working in another part of Gaza at the time and road journeys were extremely dangerous, he insisted on bringing an ambulance to al-Bureij so that he could aid his neighbors.
On another day during the 2014 attack, Muhammad was working in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza. Israel had destroyed homes in the area and many of those displaced had gathered around an ambulance in desperation.
The Israeli forces ordered that the people move away from the ambulance. But Muhammad disobeyed the order and drove away quickly, the ambulance full of people.
As the ambulance departed, the Israeli forces fired a missile in its direction. “Luckily, Muhammad managed to swerve away and he survived, along with his passengers,” said Saqir.
“The first time I felt helpless”The fifth anniversary of the 2014 attack brings back painful memories for Gaza’s medics.
In total, 23 Palestinian health workers were killed [pdf] during that offensive, 16 of them while on duty. The medics who survived have, in many cases, had to cope with bereavement.
Basem al-Batsh works for Gaza’s civil defense department. Late in the evening of 29 July 2014, he received a phone call to say that Israel was bombarding Jabaliya refugee camp, where he lived.
Basem set out for home. Yet when he got to the entrance of his neighborhood, it was impossible to venture any farther.
Israel was firing missiles “at everything that moved,” he said. “I could see my family running in the street, fleeing the house.”
The extended al-Batsh family lived in a multi-story building. As they tried to escape, the Israeli forces attacked them.
Five members of the family were killed. Among them were Basem’s mother Halima. “I watched my mother dying,” he said. “At that moment, Israel killed me as well.”
Once he felt safe enough to move, Basem took his mother’s body and placed it in the back of the ambulance.
“I sat in the front seat and couldn’t look in the back at my mother’s body,” he said. “It was the first time I felt helpless. I’m a paramedic and a civil defenseman, who couldn’t save the life of his mother.”
~Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
19 july 2019
Palestinian protesters flee from an Israeli military vehicle carrying tanks of skunk water across the barbed-wire fence during clashes along a fence near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 19, 2019
Israeli forces have attacked Palestinians taking part in the weekly “Great March of Return” rallies, injuring 98 Gazan protesters, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
The Gazan Health Ministry also said that 49 of the injured protesters had sustained bullet wounds from Israeli live fire.
Four paramedics were also among the wounded.
The rallies have been held every week since March 30 last year. The Palestinians demand the right to return of those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression.
Israeli troops have killed at least 305 Palestinians since the beginning of the rallies and wounded nearly 18,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
In March, a United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission found that Israeli forces committed rights violations during their crackdown against the Palestinian protesters in Gaza that may amount to war crimes.
Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, which has caused a decline in living standards.
Israel has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.
Israeli forces have attacked Palestinians taking part in the weekly “Great March of Return” rallies, injuring 98 Gazan protesters, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
The Gazan Health Ministry also said that 49 of the injured protesters had sustained bullet wounds from Israeli live fire.
Four paramedics were also among the wounded.
The rallies have been held every week since March 30 last year. The Palestinians demand the right to return of those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression.
Israeli troops have killed at least 305 Palestinians since the beginning of the rallies and wounded nearly 18,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
In March, a United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission found that Israeli forces committed rights violations during their crackdown against the Palestinian protesters in Gaza that may amount to war crimes.
Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, which has caused a decline in living standards.
Israel has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.
17 july 2019
The Palestinian health ministry has said that the hospitals in the Gaza Strip suffer from an acute shortage of medicines and essential medical consumables, describing it as “the most difficult crisis during the years of the Israeli blockade.”
Spokesman for the health ministry Ashraf al-Qudra stated on Tuesday that the ministry’s annual needs of medical supplies are worth $40 million, but it received during the first half of the current year only a $10 million worth of medicines and medical consumables from different parties.
Qudra added that the failure to meet the needs of patients deprived 50 percent of them of receiving medical treatment.
He urged the concerned parties and donors to urgently provide Gaza with its needs of medical supplies.
Spokesman for the health ministry Ashraf al-Qudra stated on Tuesday that the ministry’s annual needs of medical supplies are worth $40 million, but it received during the first half of the current year only a $10 million worth of medicines and medical consumables from different parties.
Qudra added that the failure to meet the needs of patients deprived 50 percent of them of receiving medical treatment.
He urged the concerned parties and donors to urgently provide Gaza with its needs of medical supplies.
