Palestinians fear Gaza health crisis

GAZA CITY: Palestinian medical experts fear a looming health crisis after Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip unless patients are guaranteed access to life-saving treatment beyond the territory. While Israel regards its departure from Gaza as signalling the end of its 38-year occupation, the Palestinians argue that Israel will remain an occupying power as long as it retains control of its borders and is thus still obliged to meet the health needs of the local population.

"I fear a worsening of the health situation after the withdrawal from Gaza as a result of the Israeli cordon," said Dr. Majdi Ashur, president of the Palestinian relief committees.

"Israel is refusing to recognise its obligations as a continuing occupation power by meeting basic health needs of the population and we do not foresee a resumption of proper freedom of movement in the short term," he said, adding that over 10,000 patients are transferred each year out of Gaza to Egypt, Jordan and the West Bank to receive treatment.

Hundreds of those who are treated outside the territory are suffering from chronic or life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, he said.

Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians have been locked in talks for months about the future of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza that has often been closed by Israel for security reasons over the years.

Although Israel is set to hand over border control to Egypt, Ashur said it would do little to ease the problems as the main source of health care for Palestinians was in the West Bank.

While there are also ongoing negotiations about a so-called "safe passage" between Gaza and the West Bank, no agreements have yet been reached.

"Our overall health plan links us to the West Bank where the two main hospitals are based," said Ashur.

Israel has been increasingly reluctant to allow Palestinians to be treated inside its borders since an incident in June when a young woman from Gaza who was receiving treatment for burns was stopped with explosives at the Erez terminal crossing.

But a source in Israel's Health Ministry said there would be no immediate change to the procedures after the pullout of soldiers is completed next month.

"As in the past when Palestinians were able turn to the civil administration for medical treatment, they will still be able to do this," she said.

Even if Rafah were to reopen, patients would still have a 500-kilometer journey overland to Cairo, a procedure which is not regarded as a viable alternative for emergency cases.

In the past, emergency patients have been admitted to hospitals in the Israeli coastal cities of Ashkelon or Tel Aviv or in Jerusalem, he added.

But the facilities at the around a dozen hospitals in the territory are sometimes little more than basic.