Posted on: Saturday, 5 July 2008, 06:00 CDT

Text of report by Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam on 24 June

[Commentary by Isa Sa'dallah: "Despite the Fact That the Calm in Gaza Has Entered Its Fifth Day, the Occupation Is Still Refusing to Increase the Number of Sick People Allowed to Leave the Strip for Treatment"]

Despite the fact that the calm in the Gaza Strip has entered its fifth day, the occupation forces are still refusing to increase the number of sick people allowed to leave for treatment in the hospitals of Israel, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, or those of neighbouring Arab countries.

Dr Mu'awiyah Hasanayn, director-general of the Ambulatory and Emergency Department at the Ministry of Health, said that there has been no increase whatsoever in the number of sick people leaving the Gaza Strip for treatment.

During an interview with Al-Ayyam, Hasanayn also noted that Israel is still insisting on allowing only about 20 patients to cross daily, whereas about 150 were allowed to cross prior to the tightening of the siege a year ago. He warned of the consequence of Israel continuing to adopt this policy, which led to the deaths of about 200 patients last year. If Israel continues with the same policy in dealing with sick people, he expects an increase in the number of patients who will die. Hasanayn said: "The Ministry of Health has not received any indication or promise from the Israeli side that it will increase the number of patients leaving for treatment."

He also mentioned that the Ambulatory and Emergency Department, as well as the Coordination Department, are making contacts regarding the possibility of helping the medical sector in the various areas.

Patients Need Treatment Abroad

Hasanayn also mentioned that about 650 patients in the Gaza Strip urgently need to travel for treatment and about 1,000 patients need to be re-examined and undergo tests in medical and consultation centres that are not available in the Strip. He noted that the Ministry of Health insists on allowing ambulances to move patients to the hospitals and medical centres in Israel and the West Bank; however, since 2004, Israel has been preventing the entry of ambulances into its territory. This has made the conditions for patients worse and has sometimes led to their deaths. He wondered about the usefulness of the calm if it does not fulfil the necessary humanitarian needs. He called for increasing the number of patients allowed to leave the Strip and cancelling the humiliating and long inspection measures at the crossings.

Hasanayn said: "There is an urgent need for relief workers, physicians and consultants to be able to move between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Israel." He confirmed that Israel refuses entry or exit to medical delegations and this leads to the loss of scores of opportunities for these delegations to attend world medical conferences.

With respect to increasing the kinds of medications and medical supplies, Hasanayn noted that the Israeli side had promised to increase their quantity. He also pointed out that the Israeli side had promised to increase the number of medical teams allowed to reach the areas near the borders; up to now, only two have been allowed.

Developing the Medical Sector

In the same context, Hasanayn called for rehabilitating and assisting the Ambulatory and Emergency Department, as well as its ambulances that have been damaged as a result of the intensive work they have had to do over the past months when security conditions escalated. He said that the department would benefit from the calm period in order to carry out more development work. He noted that this department organized a meeting with representatives of international health organizations for this objective.

It is worth noting that the medical sector was mostly affected as a result of the tight Israeli embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip on the eve of Hamas's military control of the Strip in June 2007. According to statistics issued by the Ministry of Health and the Popular Committee for Lifting the Siege, about 200 patients have died because they were not able to leave the Strip for treatment in hospitals abroad.

Last year, the hospitals in the Strip suffered, and are still suffering, from a great lack of many kinds of medications and medical supplies. Hospitals also suffer from an excess in employees and from the lack of maintenance work, due to the shortage of necessary materials for maintenance and development work.

Outside the medical referral clinics, there are long queues of citizens who are seeking to obtain the necessary medical referrals abroad.

Originally published by Al-Ayyam, Ramallah, in Arabic 24 Jun 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East