Hebron, West Bank: Palestinians Lack Access to Medical Care, MSF Says

TEMPO.CO, Hebron City -  Physical injury, mental trauma and limited access to medical care are a daily reality for many Palestinians living in and around the West Bank city of Hebron, a city in which under Israeli control, stated the international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a new report published on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, according to a press release received by Tempo this morning.

In the report titled "Occupied lives: the forcible transfer of Palestinians in Hebron," MSF explains that access to medical care for Palestinians in Hebron is increasingly difficult due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers and settlers.

"Movement restrictions accompanied by harassment and violence by Israeli forces and settlers cause a lot of undue suffering for Palestinians in Hebron," said MSF humanitarian affairs manager Frederieke van Dongen. "This has a devastating impact on people's mental and physical health."

Ministry of Health clinics throughout the Hebron area have been forced to close, many pharmacies are out of stock, and ambulances carrying the sick and wounded have been blocked and attacked. Due to restrictions on movement and threats of violence, many sick people have been forced to delay or even forgo treatment. In addition, families in Hebron are experiencing serious financial difficulties after losing their livelihoods, forcing many to terminate their health insurance, reduce their food intake, and not buy much-needed medicines because they cannot afford them.

Based on the testimonies of Palestinian patients and communities assisted by MSF, it is reported that Israeli restrictions on movement and physical violence against Palestinians' access to medical care are having a devastating impact on their physical and psychological health.

One of the most restricted areas in the West Bank is H2, where 21 permanent checkpoints operated by Israeli forces to monitor the movement of the Palestinian population pose a significant obstacle to health workers trying to access the area. For two months after October 7, 2023, Ministry of Health clinics located within H2 were closed, and only one clinic was able to operate because most Ministry of Health staff did not have permits to cross Israeli checkpoints into H2.

"There are currently no clinics operating in the closed area [H2], and even if there were, residents live under the threat of death to get medicine," said an MSF staff member and H2 resident, interviewed in November 2023, after Israeli forces closed off access to all Ministry of Health staff in the area and forced them to stop providing services to patients. "You can't get sick here, it's forbidden."

"In the months following the October 7 attack, restrictions on movement and violence in the H2 area of Hebron city were so tight that patients were forced to climb over fences and rooftops, risking their lives, just to get health services," van Dongen said.

The constant threat of violence places a heavy strain on people's mental health, MSF staff said. "When soldiers come at night to attack the house, my children and wife hide behind me for protection, but I can't protect them," said a Palestinian patient in Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills. "They have weapons, they can do whatever they want."

The MSF report also highlights forced displacement in Hebron City. Increasingly coercive and violent policies and actions by Israeli authorities and settlers are causing more and more Palestinian families to leave their homes, an act that could be considered forced displacement, according to MSF. In the report, MSF explains that since October 2023, MSF teams have provided assistance to more than 1,500 Palestinians across Hebron who were forcibly removed from their villages, or whose homes were demolished and property confiscated. "Despite their responsibilities as a state of occupation, the Israeli authorities have failed to fulfill their obligations to the Palestinian people," Dongen said.

"Israeli policies implemented in Hebron have had a far-reaching impact on the physical and mental health of Palestinians. We call on the Israeli authorities to guarantee unhindered access to healthcare and other essential services, to protect Palestinians from forced displacement, and to facilitate the safe return of refugees to their homes," said Dongen.

TEMPO.CO

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