13 mar 2018
The Israeli Health Ministry is imposing Jewish religious law on Arab citizens with no legal authority: ‘No law in the State of Israel prevents citizens from carrying leavened foods into hospitals.’
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is fighting an Israeli government ban that prevents Arab citizens from bringing leavened bread products into hospitals during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Jewish religious law forbids Jews from consuming leavened bread products during Passover, which commences on 30 March and lasts for a week.
Archive IMEMC post 05/09/14 — Netanyahu: Talmud Will be the Basis of Israeli Law
Adalah filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on 27 February 2018 against the Health Ministry’s ban on bringing leavened bread products into hospitals or eating bread in hospitals for the duration of the holiday.
According to this policy, which has been enforced in hospitals nationwide over the past several years, all individuals – including non-Jewish Arab citizens – must undergo strict searches at hospital entrances. Any leavened bread products found are confiscated or destroyed. In a number of past cases, individuals who refused to hand over their bread products to security guards were prevented from entering hospitals and visiting admitted family members.
The Israeli Health Ministry is imposing this ban on leavened bread products without any legal authority, Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher wrote in the petition:
“There is no law in the State of Israel that prevents citizens from bringing leavened foods into hospitals and there is no law in the State of Israel that prevents them from bringing non-kosher food for their hospitalized relatives to eat.”
Further, this policy humiliates Arab patients and visitors and violates Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.
“The aggressive intervention of public authorities in private decisions regarding what to eat and where – particularly when an individual is in a vulnerable situation as is the case with hospitalized patients or visiting family members – is a violation of human liberty and personal dignity.”
The ban also constitutes religious coercion of hospitalized Arab citizens and their visiting family members during the Passover holiday.
In the wake of numerous complaints received over the past number of years, Adalah has written to the Health Ministry and the Attorney General but received no appropriate response.
Last year, the Attorney General’s office informed Adalah that he was working with the Health Ministry to find a solution to the issue but no decision on the matter has yet been issued.
Adalah demands the Supreme Court either issue an interim order preventing the Health Ministry from enforcing its ban this upcoming Passover, or schedule an urgent hearing in order to secure a solution prior to the holiday.
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is fighting an Israeli government ban that prevents Arab citizens from bringing leavened bread products into hospitals during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Jewish religious law forbids Jews from consuming leavened bread products during Passover, which commences on 30 March and lasts for a week.
Archive IMEMC post 05/09/14 — Netanyahu: Talmud Will be the Basis of Israeli Law
Adalah filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on 27 February 2018 against the Health Ministry’s ban on bringing leavened bread products into hospitals or eating bread in hospitals for the duration of the holiday.
According to this policy, which has been enforced in hospitals nationwide over the past several years, all individuals – including non-Jewish Arab citizens – must undergo strict searches at hospital entrances. Any leavened bread products found are confiscated or destroyed. In a number of past cases, individuals who refused to hand over their bread products to security guards were prevented from entering hospitals and visiting admitted family members.
The Israeli Health Ministry is imposing this ban on leavened bread products without any legal authority, Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher wrote in the petition:
“There is no law in the State of Israel that prevents citizens from bringing leavened foods into hospitals and there is no law in the State of Israel that prevents them from bringing non-kosher food for their hospitalized relatives to eat.”
Further, this policy humiliates Arab patients and visitors and violates Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.
“The aggressive intervention of public authorities in private decisions regarding what to eat and where – particularly when an individual is in a vulnerable situation as is the case with hospitalized patients or visiting family members – is a violation of human liberty and personal dignity.”
The ban also constitutes religious coercion of hospitalized Arab citizens and their visiting family members during the Passover holiday.
In the wake of numerous complaints received over the past number of years, Adalah has written to the Health Ministry and the Attorney General but received no appropriate response.
Last year, the Attorney General’s office informed Adalah that he was working with the Health Ministry to find a solution to the issue but no decision on the matter has yet been issued.
Adalah demands the Supreme Court either issue an interim order preventing the Health Ministry from enforcing its ban this upcoming Passover, or schedule an urgent hearing in order to secure a solution prior to the holiday.
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On Monday, four Palestinian medics, and despite being repeatedly assaulted and dragged by the Israeli soldiers, managed to rescue wounded Palestinians after the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against protesters on the main road leading to the military court, north of al-Biereh city, in central West Bank.
The four medics were filmed by various media agencies, performing their humanitarian duty, despite the military violations against them. They have been identified as Nisreen Amira, Ayman Qirret, Atiya Dweik and Mohammad Omar; they managed to provide the urgently needed treatment to wounded Palestinians, and even managed to take them away to hospitals despite the army’s attempts to abduct them. |
It all started when a young man was shot after the soldiers resorted to the excessive use against the Palestinian protesters and tried to remove them from the area.
The soldiers then injured the wounded young man’s friend, while was trying to help him.
The four volunteer medics rushed to the wounded Palestinians’ aid, but the soldiers assaulted them by first firing live rounds above their heads, then used pepper-spray against them, in addition to physically attacking them, but they remained determined to perform their duty, and managed to evacuate the two wounded Palestinians.
After ongoing assaults by the soldiers, three of the medics managed to rush one of the wounded Palestinian to a nearby ambulance, while Nisreen Amira, the 19 years of age volunteer medic, stayed behind with the second wounded Palestinian, trying to protect him and provided him with the needed aid, while the soldiers continued to strike her and point their guns at her.
One of the soldiers tried to drag the wounded Palestinian from his arm, but Nisreen protected him, and refused to allow the soldiers to abduct him, and insisted on providing him with the medical aid he urgently needs.
By then, the three other medics returned to the area, and despite suffering the effects of tear gas and pepper-spray, they managed to help Nisreen and evacuated the wounded young man to a hospital.
Palestinian journalists, who were also assaulted and some injured by the soldiers, documented the unfolding events, and filmed Nisreen, while struggling with the heavily armed soldiers, just to be able to perform her humanitarian and medical dirty.
After the assault, and the injuries she suffered, Nisreen smiled and placed the gas mask on her face, and said, “This is the third time I get injured by the soldiers, but I will continue to perform my duty; their attacks and violations will never deter us from this humanitarian task.”
During the Israeli army attack, the soldiers injured seventeen Palestinians, including eight who were shot with live fire, and assaulted many journalists. Another video
The soldiers then injured the wounded young man’s friend, while was trying to help him.
The four volunteer medics rushed to the wounded Palestinians’ aid, but the soldiers assaulted them by first firing live rounds above their heads, then used pepper-spray against them, in addition to physically attacking them, but they remained determined to perform their duty, and managed to evacuate the two wounded Palestinians.
After ongoing assaults by the soldiers, three of the medics managed to rush one of the wounded Palestinian to a nearby ambulance, while Nisreen Amira, the 19 years of age volunteer medic, stayed behind with the second wounded Palestinian, trying to protect him and provided him with the needed aid, while the soldiers continued to strike her and point their guns at her.
One of the soldiers tried to drag the wounded Palestinian from his arm, but Nisreen protected him, and refused to allow the soldiers to abduct him, and insisted on providing him with the medical aid he urgently needs.
By then, the three other medics returned to the area, and despite suffering the effects of tear gas and pepper-spray, they managed to help Nisreen and evacuated the wounded young man to a hospital.
Palestinian journalists, who were also assaulted and some injured by the soldiers, documented the unfolding events, and filmed Nisreen, while struggling with the heavily armed soldiers, just to be able to perform her humanitarian and medical dirty.
After the assault, and the injuries she suffered, Nisreen smiled and placed the gas mask on her face, and said, “This is the third time I get injured by the soldiers, but I will continue to perform my duty; their attacks and violations will never deter us from this humanitarian task.”
During the Israeli army attack, the soldiers injured seventeen Palestinians, including eight who were shot with live fire, and assaulted many journalists. Another video
Israeli soldiers injured, Monday, seventeen Palestinians, including eight who were shot with live rounds, after the army attacked dozens of students of Birzeit University, protesting the Israeli abduction and imprisonment of the head of the Students’ Senate, who was taken prisoner last Wednesday, when the soldiers invaded the university campus.
The students, and many other Palestinians, marched towards the northern entrance of al-Biereh city, near the military roadblock which leads to an army base and the military court.
Dozens of soldiers assaulted the students with their guns and batons, especially on their heads, wounding two , and attempted to abduct them, but Palestinian medics managed to rescue them.
The soldiers also physically attacked many medics, and spayed them with pepper-spray, wounding one of them.
The soldiers also fired dozens of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades, wounding seventeen Palestinians, including eight with live fire, and chased dozens to abduct them.
One of the wounded Palestinians suffered life-threatening injuries.
Furthermore, the soldiers attacked many reporters with their guns and batons, used pepper-spray against them, and removed many journalists from the area.
Undercover Israeli soldiers also tried to ambush many Palestinians in the al-Baloa’ area, in al-Biereh, but were unable to do so after their attempts were exposed by the locals.
The students, and many other Palestinians, marched towards the northern entrance of al-Biereh city, near the military roadblock which leads to an army base and the military court.
Dozens of soldiers assaulted the students with their guns and batons, especially on their heads, wounding two , and attempted to abduct them, but Palestinian medics managed to rescue them.
The soldiers also physically attacked many medics, and spayed them with pepper-spray, wounding one of them.
The soldiers also fired dozens of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades, wounding seventeen Palestinians, including eight with live fire, and chased dozens to abduct them.
One of the wounded Palestinians suffered life-threatening injuries.
Furthermore, the soldiers attacked many reporters with their guns and batons, used pepper-spray against them, and removed many journalists from the area.
Undercover Israeli soldiers also tried to ambush many Palestinians in the al-Baloa’ area, in al-Biereh, but were unable to do so after their attempts were exposed by the locals.
12 mar 2018
At least eight Palestinians were injured, one of them seriously, during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Monday afternoon at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that eight Palestinians were transferred to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah after being injured by live bullets. The condition of one of the injured was described as serious.
The clashes broke out following a student march protesting the arrest of Omar al-Kiswani, the president of the student union at Birzeit University who was arrested by Israeli undercover soldiers in the university campus on Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses said that the IOF soldiers attacked the protesters with live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters while the students responded by throwing stones.
The IOF soldiers assaulted the ambulance crews and prevented them from providing first aid to the injured.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that eight Palestinians were transferred to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah after being injured by live bullets. The condition of one of the injured was described as serious.
The clashes broke out following a student march protesting the arrest of Omar al-Kiswani, the president of the student union at Birzeit University who was arrested by Israeli undercover soldiers in the university campus on Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses said that the IOF soldiers attacked the protesters with live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters while the students responded by throwing stones.
The IOF soldiers assaulted the ambulance crews and prevented them from providing first aid to the injured.
21 feb 2018
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday morning, a Palestinian medical center run by the Health Work Committee, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and abducted a child.
The Health Work Committee said the soldiers broke into their center, in the southern area of Hebron city, and abducted the child, only thirteen years of age, before taking him to an unknown destination.
They added that the soldiers used excessive force against the patients, and the workers, in the medical center.
The Committee stated that such invasions are serious violations of all related international laws and treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protect all medical centers and clinics.
It voiced an urgent appeal to all legal and human rights groups around the world to intervene, and provide the needed protection to the Palestinian people, their homes, lands and institutions, especially medical centers that are supposed to be protected at all costs from these invasions.
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers frequently place iron gates at the main entrance of the medical center and prevent the Palestinians from entering it.
The Health Work Committee said the soldiers broke into their center, in the southern area of Hebron city, and abducted the child, only thirteen years of age, before taking him to an unknown destination.
They added that the soldiers used excessive force against the patients, and the workers, in the medical center.
The Committee stated that such invasions are serious violations of all related international laws and treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protect all medical centers and clinics.
It voiced an urgent appeal to all legal and human rights groups around the world to intervene, and provide the needed protection to the Palestinian people, their homes, lands and institutions, especially medical centers that are supposed to be protected at all costs from these invasions.
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers frequently place iron gates at the main entrance of the medical center and prevent the Palestinians from entering it.
19 feb 2018
A Qatari medical delegation on Monday morning arrived in al-Quds Hospital, which is affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza, in a one-week visit to carry out cochlear implantation surgeries for 30 deaf children.
Doctor Khalil Abu al-Foul, Director of the hospital, said that it is the fourth visit of the Qatari delegation in coordination with Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
Doctor Khalil Abu al-Foul, Director of the hospital, said that it is the fourth visit of the Qatari delegation in coordination with Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
Qatari envoy Mohamed al-Emadi said that the Qatari aid, estimated at 9 million dollars, which is granted for Gaza Strip aims at contributing to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the besieged coastal enclave.
He elaborated that $2,300,000 are going to be allocated for blankets and food baskets and that $500,000 for fuel (for hospitals and Health Ministry) in addition to $2 million for medications.
He stated that the fuel offered suffices for one month only and said that it is a kind of initiative in order to encourage international organizations to bear their responsibilities.
Emadi added that $1 million is allocated for renovating the houses of the poor families and that another $1 million for paying university fees for poor students. $2 million are also allocated for patients and other humanitarian cases.
The Qatari envoy also said that Qatar coordinates in this regard with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and international organizations. The materials that were included in the grant have entered the Gaza Strip via the PA, Emadi concluded.
He elaborated that $2,300,000 are going to be allocated for blankets and food baskets and that $500,000 for fuel (for hospitals and Health Ministry) in addition to $2 million for medications.
He stated that the fuel offered suffices for one month only and said that it is a kind of initiative in order to encourage international organizations to bear their responsibilities.
Emadi added that $1 million is allocated for renovating the houses of the poor families and that another $1 million for paying university fees for poor students. $2 million are also allocated for patients and other humanitarian cases.
The Qatari envoy also said that Qatar coordinates in this regard with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and international organizations. The materials that were included in the grant have entered the Gaza Strip via the PA, Emadi concluded.
16 feb 2018
The national anti-siege and reconstruction commission in Gaza said that six premature infants have died since the beginning of the current year after failure to provide them with a vital respiratory medicine helping them to breathe normally.
In a statement released on Thursday by the commission, 10 percent of 87 preterm infants admitted to the nursery unit of al-Shifa Hospital during the past 37 weeks needed or still need this drug, which called “Calfactant.”
The commission warned that premature babies in Gaza would remain under constant threat of death as long as this important drug was unavailable in hospitals.
In a statement released on Thursday by the commission, 10 percent of 87 preterm infants admitted to the nursery unit of al-Shifa Hospital during the past 37 weeks needed or still need this drug, which called “Calfactant.”
The commission warned that premature babies in Gaza would remain under constant threat of death as long as this important drug was unavailable in hospitals.
14 feb 2018
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Cancer patients take part in a December 2016 protest in Gaza City demanding that they be allowed to travel for treatment. In 2017, 54 patients died in Gaza after Israel denied or delayed such permits, the majority of them cancer patients.
Mohammed Asad APA imagesFifty-four Palestinians died last year waiting for Israeli permits to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment. One of them was Faten Ahmed, a 26-year-old with a rare form of cancer. She died in August while awaiting an Israeli permit to travel for chemotherapy and radiotherapy not available in Gaza. She had previously missed eight hospital appointments after Israeli “security approval” was delayed or denied, according to the World Health Organization. Ahmed was one of five women [PDF] who died from cancer in that month alone waiting for Israeli permission that never came. Overall, 46 of those who died last year waiting for permits were cancer patients. Shocking number of deaths This staggering toll highlights the lethal impact of Israel’s ever-tightening siege on the two million people who live in Gaza. |
“We’re seeing Israel increasingly deny or delay access to potentially life-saving cancer and other treatment outside Gaza, with shockingly high numbers of Palestinian patients subsequently dying, while Gaza’s healthcare system – subjected to half a century of occupation and a decade of blockade – is decreasingly able to meet the needs of its population,” Aimee Shalan, CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians, said on Tuesday.
Her charity, along with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, has issued an urgent call on Israel to “lift the unlawful sweeping restrictions on the freedom of movement of people from Gaza, most critically those with significant health problems.”
In 2017 Israeli occupation authorities approved just 54 percent of applications for permits to leave Gaza for medical appointments, the lowest rate [PDF] since the World Health Organization began collecting data in 2008.
Israel has dramatically tightened the deadly squeeze; its approval rate for permits fell from 92 percent in 2012 to 82 percent in 2014 and then 62 percent in 2016, before hitting its lowest point last year.
The health and human rights groups note that the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have declared Israel’s land, sea and air blockade on Gaza, preventing the movement of its population, to be “collective punishment” – a war crime.
“Palestinians from Gaza missed at least 11,000 scheduled medical appointments in 2017 after Israeli authorities denied or failed to respond in time to applications for permits,” the groups state.
Egypt and Palestinian Authority complicit
The groups also note that Egypt and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority played a role in worsening the situation: “Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing mostly closed for the population in Gaza since 2013, which contributed to restricting access to health care.”
“As a state bordering a territory with a protracted humanitarian crisis, Egypt should facilitate humanitarian access for the population,” they state. “Nevertheless, ultimate responsibility remains with Israel, the occupying power.”
The Palestinian Authority also sharply reduced its financial approvals for medical treatment outside Gaza as part of its sanctions aimed at forcing Hamas to hand over control of the governance of Gaza.
These PA restrictions resulted in at least one death, according to the groups. But medical authorities in Gaza have said that more than a dozen people, including a 3-year-old girl with a heart condition, died waiting for payment approval from Ramallah.
All of this comes amid the protracted siege-induced crisis which has brought the collapse of key parts of the health system.
“Amid widespread poverty and unemployment, at least 10 percent of young children are stunted by chronic malnutrition, up to half of all medicines and medical items in Gaza are completely depleted or below one month’s supply, and chronic electricity shortages have caused officials to cut health and other essential services,” the human rights and medical groups state.
End the siege
Earlier this month, hospitals in Gaza began shutting down as emergency generators ran out of fuel, forcing the postponement of hundreds of operations.
On Wednesday, RT posted this report from Gaza about the plight of cancer patients. Correspondent Anya Parampil spoke to Zakia Tafish whose husband Jamil died after he was repeatedly blocked from traveling to Jerusalem for surgery.
The channel also aired a report about the worsening situation in the territory’s hospitals.
Following UN warnings of looming catastrophe, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last week pledged $11 million in short-term funding to stave off an even worse catastrophe for another few months.
However, as the human rights groups note, there is no long-term solution but to end the siege.
“The Israeli government’s restrictions on movement are directly connected to patient deaths and compounded suffering as ill patients seek permits,” Al Mezan director Issam Younis said.
“These practices form part of the closure and permit regime that prevents patients from a life of dignity, and violates the right to life.”
The UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians is calling on the public to contact lawmakers in the British parliament and “ask them to urge the UK government to take action and save lives in Gaza.”
Her charity, along with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, has issued an urgent call on Israel to “lift the unlawful sweeping restrictions on the freedom of movement of people from Gaza, most critically those with significant health problems.”
In 2017 Israeli occupation authorities approved just 54 percent of applications for permits to leave Gaza for medical appointments, the lowest rate [PDF] since the World Health Organization began collecting data in 2008.
Israel has dramatically tightened the deadly squeeze; its approval rate for permits fell from 92 percent in 2012 to 82 percent in 2014 and then 62 percent in 2016, before hitting its lowest point last year.
The health and human rights groups note that the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have declared Israel’s land, sea and air blockade on Gaza, preventing the movement of its population, to be “collective punishment” – a war crime.
“Palestinians from Gaza missed at least 11,000 scheduled medical appointments in 2017 after Israeli authorities denied or failed to respond in time to applications for permits,” the groups state.
Egypt and Palestinian Authority complicit
The groups also note that Egypt and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority played a role in worsening the situation: “Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing mostly closed for the population in Gaza since 2013, which contributed to restricting access to health care.”
“As a state bordering a territory with a protracted humanitarian crisis, Egypt should facilitate humanitarian access for the population,” they state. “Nevertheless, ultimate responsibility remains with Israel, the occupying power.”
The Palestinian Authority also sharply reduced its financial approvals for medical treatment outside Gaza as part of its sanctions aimed at forcing Hamas to hand over control of the governance of Gaza.
These PA restrictions resulted in at least one death, according to the groups. But medical authorities in Gaza have said that more than a dozen people, including a 3-year-old girl with a heart condition, died waiting for payment approval from Ramallah.
All of this comes amid the protracted siege-induced crisis which has brought the collapse of key parts of the health system.
“Amid widespread poverty and unemployment, at least 10 percent of young children are stunted by chronic malnutrition, up to half of all medicines and medical items in Gaza are completely depleted or below one month’s supply, and chronic electricity shortages have caused officials to cut health and other essential services,” the human rights and medical groups state.
End the siege
Earlier this month, hospitals in Gaza began shutting down as emergency generators ran out of fuel, forcing the postponement of hundreds of operations.
On Wednesday, RT posted this report from Gaza about the plight of cancer patients. Correspondent Anya Parampil spoke to Zakia Tafish whose husband Jamil died after he was repeatedly blocked from traveling to Jerusalem for surgery.
The channel also aired a report about the worsening situation in the territory’s hospitals.
Following UN warnings of looming catastrophe, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last week pledged $11 million in short-term funding to stave off an even worse catastrophe for another few months.
However, as the human rights groups note, there is no long-term solution but to end the siege.
“The Israeli government’s restrictions on movement are directly connected to patient deaths and compounded suffering as ill patients seek permits,” Al Mezan director Issam Younis said.
“These practices form part of the closure and permit regime that prevents patients from a life of dignity, and violates the right to life.”
The UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians is calling on the public to contact lawmakers in the British parliament and “ask them to urge the UK government to take action and save lives in Gaza.”
12 feb 2018
Gaza's Ministry of Health on Sunday announced that surgeries will be suspended in al-Shifa Hospital, except for emergency cases, due to a cleaners' strike over unpaid salaries for about five months.
The Ministry said in a statement that it has been decided to postpone all scheduled surgeries, including those for patients with tumors, noting that the decision excluded life-saving surgeries.
The medical staff at al-Shifa Hospital called on all relevant parties to work toward ending the strike immediately as it threatens patients' lives because of the dangerous accumulation of medical garbage in the hospital.
In a related context, the cleaning company of al-Hilal Hospital in the southern province of Rafah started a strike on Sunday because of the delay in paying its cleaners' salaries for the fourth month in a row.
This strike would exacerbate the medical crisis hitting the hospital in light of the acute shortage of medicines and equipment.
According to the Ministry, nearly 832 cleaners are employed to work in Gaza's hospitals and medical centers at a cost of 943,000 shekels per month (11.3 million shekels per year), and they have not received their salaries for four months now.
The Ministry said in a statement that it has been decided to postpone all scheduled surgeries, including those for patients with tumors, noting that the decision excluded life-saving surgeries.
The medical staff at al-Shifa Hospital called on all relevant parties to work toward ending the strike immediately as it threatens patients' lives because of the dangerous accumulation of medical garbage in the hospital.
In a related context, the cleaning company of al-Hilal Hospital in the southern province of Rafah started a strike on Sunday because of the delay in paying its cleaners' salaries for the fourth month in a row.
This strike would exacerbate the medical crisis hitting the hospital in light of the acute shortage of medicines and equipment.
According to the Ministry, nearly 832 cleaners are employed to work in Gaza's hospitals and medical centers at a cost of 943,000 shekels per month (11.3 million shekels per year), and they have not received their salaries for four months now.
9 feb 2018
Karam Abu Awwad 4 days
The Palestinian health ministry said that a four-day-old baby on Thursday joined the convoy of victims who had died as a result of their need for vital medicines unavailable in Gaza hospitals.
According to a statement by the ministry, four-day-old Karam Abu Awwad, from Beit Lahia, died due to the absence of a special respiratory medicine called “Calfactant” that helps premature infants to breathe normally.
In this regard, the nursery department at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza has appealed to the competent authorities to urgently provide Gaza hospitals with medicines needed for newborns, especially the Calfactant.
This type of medication is one of many vital medicines that became out of stock in Gaza.
The same hospital had already seen the death of five premature infants after failure to provide them with this drug.
The Palestinian health ministry said that a four-day-old baby on Thursday joined the convoy of victims who had died as a result of their need for vital medicines unavailable in Gaza hospitals.
According to a statement by the ministry, four-day-old Karam Abu Awwad, from Beit Lahia, died due to the absence of a special respiratory medicine called “Calfactant” that helps premature infants to breathe normally.
In this regard, the nursery department at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza has appealed to the competent authorities to urgently provide Gaza hospitals with medicines needed for newborns, especially the Calfactant.
This type of medication is one of many vital medicines that became out of stock in Gaza.
The same hospital had already seen the death of five premature infants after failure to provide them with this drug.
7 feb 2018
World Health Organizations (WHO) has released its monthly report for December of 2017, which revealed the following, according to the PNN:
– 2017 the lowest rate for approvals since WHO began active monitoring in 2008: 54% of patient applications to exit Gaza via Erez were successful. There has been a continuous decline in approval rates since 2012, when approximately 93% of patient applications were successful.
– 54 patients died while awaiting security approval for referrals out of Gaza: Approximately 85% of the patients who died while awaiting security permits had been referred for cancer investigations or treatment.
– In December, 48% of patients unsuccessful in obtaining security permits from Israeli authorities: From 2,170 patient applications 52.4% were approved; 2.6% denied; and 45.0% delayed, receiving no definitive response from Israeli authorities by the date of hospital appointment.
– Three in five patient companions unsuccessful in obtaining permits to travel out of Gaza: There were 2,507 permit applications for patient companions submitted to Israeli authorities in December. 40.5%were approved, 3.6% were denied and 55.9% were delayed, still pending by the date of the patient’s hospital appointment.
– Security interrogation of patients: 11 patients (7 males; 4 females) were requested for interrogation by Israeli General Security Services at Erez during December. Five were approved permits to travel for health care.
– Financial coverage for health care: 1,784 requests for financial coverage for Gaza patients were approved by the Services Purchasing Unit of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in December 2017.
– Limited access to Egypt: Rafah terminal was open for four days in both directions. 183 patients exited Gaza to seek medical care. No medical aid and no medical delegates entered Gaza via Rafah during the month.
– 2017 the lowest rate for approvals since WHO began active monitoring in 2008: 54% of patient applications to exit Gaza via Erez were successful. There has been a continuous decline in approval rates since 2012, when approximately 93% of patient applications were successful.
– 54 patients died while awaiting security approval for referrals out of Gaza: Approximately 85% of the patients who died while awaiting security permits had been referred for cancer investigations or treatment.
– In December, 48% of patients unsuccessful in obtaining security permits from Israeli authorities: From 2,170 patient applications 52.4% were approved; 2.6% denied; and 45.0% delayed, receiving no definitive response from Israeli authorities by the date of hospital appointment.
– Three in five patient companions unsuccessful in obtaining permits to travel out of Gaza: There were 2,507 permit applications for patient companions submitted to Israeli authorities in December. 40.5%were approved, 3.6% were denied and 55.9% were delayed, still pending by the date of the patient’s hospital appointment.
– Security interrogation of patients: 11 patients (7 males; 4 females) were requested for interrogation by Israeli General Security Services at Erez during December. Five were approved permits to travel for health care.
– Financial coverage for health care: 1,784 requests for financial coverage for Gaza patients were approved by the Services Purchasing Unit of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in December 2017.
– Limited access to Egypt: Rafah terminal was open for four days in both directions. 183 patients exited Gaza to seek medical care. No medical aid and no medical delegates entered Gaza via Rafah during the month.
5 feb 2018
Gaza's Ministry of Health on Monday morning announced that backup generators at three additional health centers in Gaza have stopped working due to the acute fuel shortage.
Spokesman for the Ministry, Ashraf al-Qedra, said that the number of health facilities whose services have been suspended due to the fuel crisis has reached 3 hospitals and 13 medical centers so far.
Al-Qedra expressed deep concern that more generators might stop working at other centers in view of the absence of any solution to the crisis, which would result in serious repercussions on the future of Gaza's health sector.
Al-Qedra said in an earlier statement that the Crisis Management Committee at the Ministry of Health stressed that the health situation in the Gaza Strip has entered an unprecedented stage.
The Committee called on donors to immediately intervene to put an end to the fuel crisis and asked the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company to work urgently to give priority to hospitals and provide them with electricity around the clock.
Al-Qedra explained that health services in Gaza are in constant decline especially after services were halted in Beit Hanoun hospital and al-Durra children's hospital and patients were transferred to other hospitals.
Spokesman for the Ministry, Ashraf al-Qedra, said that the number of health facilities whose services have been suspended due to the fuel crisis has reached 3 hospitals and 13 medical centers so far.
Al-Qedra expressed deep concern that more generators might stop working at other centers in view of the absence of any solution to the crisis, which would result in serious repercussions on the future of Gaza's health sector.
Al-Qedra said in an earlier statement that the Crisis Management Committee at the Ministry of Health stressed that the health situation in the Gaza Strip has entered an unprecedented stage.
The Committee called on donors to immediately intervene to put an end to the fuel crisis and asked the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company to work urgently to give priority to hospitals and provide them with electricity around the clock.
Al-Qedra explained that health services in Gaza are in constant decline especially after services were halted in Beit Hanoun hospital and al-Durra children's hospital and patients were transferred to other hospitals.
2 feb 2018
An Israeli court ordered, Thursday, the demolition of seven Palestinian residential buildings in Susiya village, south of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
The court was looking into petitions filed by Palestinians living in the targeted homes, and said that the “Civil Administration Office,” which is run by the military in the occupied West Bank, has the green light to demolish seven homes, inhabited by 42 Palestinians, half of them are children, and some of the older residents suffer from chronic conditions.
The army also wanted to demolish the local clinic, but the court decided to delay the issue until the end of this July, to give the residents some time to find an alternate clinic.
The military was demanding the demolition of twenty buildings, but the court approved the destruction of seven.
The court said that “the army must consider humanitarian issues when enforcing construction and planning laws,” in the occupied West Bank.
The remaining buildings are subject to further deliberations, and are still threatened with demolition, pending a court ruling in appeals, which include construction plans presented by the villagers.
The court will be looking into these maps and plans on July 5th, 2018, but the army is unilaterally planning to demolish them.
The villagers face the constant threat of losing their homes in Susiya, while the military already demolished many homes and structures, in addition to the local mosque, especially since Israel is trying to relocate them to a different area, to build and expand its illegal colonies, in direct violation of International Humanitarian Law.
The court was looking into petitions filed by Palestinians living in the targeted homes, and said that the “Civil Administration Office,” which is run by the military in the occupied West Bank, has the green light to demolish seven homes, inhabited by 42 Palestinians, half of them are children, and some of the older residents suffer from chronic conditions.
The army also wanted to demolish the local clinic, but the court decided to delay the issue until the end of this July, to give the residents some time to find an alternate clinic.
The military was demanding the demolition of twenty buildings, but the court approved the destruction of seven.
The court said that “the army must consider humanitarian issues when enforcing construction and planning laws,” in the occupied West Bank.
The remaining buildings are subject to further deliberations, and are still threatened with demolition, pending a court ruling in appeals, which include construction plans presented by the villagers.
The court will be looking into these maps and plans on July 5th, 2018, but the army is unilaterally planning to demolish them.
The villagers face the constant threat of losing their homes in Susiya, while the military already demolished many homes and structures, in addition to the local mosque, especially since Israel is trying to relocate them to a different area, to build and expand its illegal colonies, in direct violation of International Humanitarian Law.