UPDATE
Humanitarian Crisis Throughout the West Bank
The Palestine Monitor, 3rd April 2002
The Palestine Monitor, A PNGO Information Clearinghouse
UPDATE
Humanitarian Crisis Throughout the West Bank
3rd April 2002
The Israeli army continues its aggression against the Palestinians throughout
the West Bank– in Ramallah water is scarce, two hospitals and most houses
have already run out. Medical staff cannot gain access to patients and
patients cannot get to hospital. Arbitrary arrests and detention continue,
attacks on civilians and civilian buildings and homes also continue, and
in fact widen as currently Jenin, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Beit Jala, Qalqiliya
and Tulkaram are all under Israeli full occupation.
Halimeh Al-Atrash, a 42 year-old woman from Walajee
village near Beit Jala, lost her baby yesterday because of the draconian
Israeli imposed closure. At 2:30 PM when she went into labor, her husband,
Khaled, phoned for an ambulance. The Israeli army did not permit the Palestinian
Red Crescent ambulance to transport her to hospital. After a failed attempt
to have the Palestinians liaise with the Israeli DCO, Khaled eventually
managed to get an Israeli ambulance to come to the other side of the military
roadblock, where they were told they would be taken to hospital and receive
medical treatment. Borrowing a private car they reached the roadblock and
the inevitable search. The car was searched, Khaled was searched, his ID
removed and checked and they waited. Informing the soldiers of the emergency
nature of the situation made no difference – Khaled and Halimeh waited
on one side of the checkpoint, and the ambulance on the other.
After being in labour for one hour, in a car at
a military roadblock, surrounded by soldiers who did nothing to help, Halimeh
gave birth – but the baby died.
Finally they were allowed get into the ambulance
and were taken to the Israeli ‘Bikor Holim’ hospital – after another long
drawn out search. Halimeh obviously needed medical care – she had lost
a lot of blood and was in serious condition. At the hospital however, they
were not allowed to receive treatment until they had paid 7000 shekels
(approx $1500 US). Unable to afford this they were refused medical treatment
and had to then travel to a Red Crescent hospital in East Jerusalem.
In other parts of the West Bank, the Israeli violence
continued. In Bethlehem tanks and soldiers have surrounded many churches
including the Church of the Nativity, where over one hundred people have
taken refuge; already they have opened fire on these churches. Hospitals
in Bethlehem were also surrounded all day – with no movement of ambulances
until early this evening when one ambulance was permitted to make three
journeys and retrieved the corpses of six Palestinians. The situation is
similar in Jenin.
Palestinians who were ‘detained’ or arbitrarily
arrested in the house-to-house searches carried out in Ramallah have begun
to be released. They were held in terrible conditions, in the cold and
rain for two or three days with no shelter and very little food, one man
telling how he and 7 others had to share one tomato and a single apple.
In another instance a man reports he and some others were “kept in a sewage
hole”; the majority of these men and youths were normal, average citizens
and had been dragged from their homes and held.
Thousands of Palestinians from inside Israel and
Israeli peace activists demonstrated today from the Ram checkpoint to Qalandiya.
At Qalandiya they were attacked by Israeli soldiers with tear gas and rubber
bullets – but were able to get two truckloads of food and medical supplies
through to Ramallah where they are currently being delivered to hospitals
and those in need by Medical Relief.
However the West Bank remains in a state of crisis,
and the country is at a standstill. 85% of the West Bank is under a 24-hour
curfew, the education system is not functioning, people cannot work, and
an already damaged economy is being further destroyed. An already
terrible humanitarian situation deteriorates further.
For more information contact Juliana at the Palestine Monitor +972
(0)2 5834021 or +972 (0)2 5833510
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