A Palestinian human rights NGO has confirmed the story we mentioned recently that the Palestinian Authority has greatly reduced the number of permits allowed for Gazans requiring hospitalization to leave the enclave.
PCHR has the statistics:
Data collected by PCHR indicates there is a gradual decline in the number of medical referrals issued for the Gaza Strip patients, as the number reached 2,190 referrals in March, but declined to 1,756 in April at a rate of 19.8%. Moreover, the medical referrals decreased in May to 1,484 at a rate of 32.2%. The information collected by PCHR shows that the number of referrals in June did not exceed 500, which points out that they declined at a rate of over 75%. On the other hand, the External Medical Treatment Department adopted a new mechanism when dealing with serious cases, under which patients are referred upon the approval of the Department’s Director, as the “financial coverage is offered later and following the coordination needed”. On Thursday, 15 June 2017, this mechanism stopped upon the instructions given by Ramallah’s Ministry of Health to the External Medical Treatment Department in Gaza. The number of medical referrals approved by the Higher Medical Committee in the Gaza Strip since early June is over 2,500 referrals so far for patients suffering from serious diseases that have no treatment in Gaza. These patients are awaiting for the approval on the financial coverage for their treatment abroad. However, Ramallah’s External Medical Treatment Department issued only 400 referrals. This raises concerns on the delay of about a month and a half, in addition to the decline in the number of medical referrals despite the approval of the Higher Medical Committee in the Gaza Strip.Not only that, but patients that do get permission to go to the West Bank for treatment are being rejected by the hospitals themselves!
PCHR is shocked as the West Bank hospitals has started rejecting hospital appointments for the Gaza Strip patients with medical referrals from the External Medical Treatment Department although these hospitals used to reserve a bed for the referred patient under the term “financial coverage offered later“. The new measure taken hinders the Gaza Strip patients’ access to those hospitals and aggravates the health situation.The PA has shown time and time again that it doesn't care about its own people.
Why should the rest of the world prioritize helping those who actively and consciously allow their own people to die?
Is Abbas' decision to stop electricity, medicines, anesthetic, medical equipment and other life saving material from Gaza morally different from Bashar Assad's siege of Yarmouk? Yet Assad is considered a monster and Abbas a peacemaker.
It goes to show that facts have little to do with how (or even if) things are reported.