Today, Monday, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights denounced, in a statement, the continued tightening of the closure by the Israeli occupation authorities on the Beit Hanoun “Erez” crossing, which threatens the lives of patients in the Gaza Strip and contributes to the deterioration of their health conditions.
Following is the text of the statement:
The Israeli occupation authorities continue to prevent patients in the Gaza Strip, especially serious cases, cancer patients and other patients whose cases the health system in the Gaza Strip cannot deal with, after the siege and continuous Israeli violations have led to the destruction of the basics of health care, and the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of hospitals.
According to the information collected by Al Mezan Center as part of its follow-up to the conditions of patients and its tireless attempts to help them reach Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, or within the Green Line, the occupation authorities, from 11/5/2021 to 23/5/2021, did not allow the passage of Any patient from the Gaza Strip during its aggression on the Strip, which affected infrastructure and damaged health care centers.
The authorities also continue their strict closure after the aggression, which threatens the lives of patients with death or contributes to the deterioration of the conditions of thousands of patients, especially since hundreds of them, especially cancer patients, have come a long way in their treatment journey. According to the monitoring of Al-Mizan Center, from May 24, 2021 until May 31, 2021, the occupation authorities allowed only 17 patients to leave.
By comparing this number with the number of those who were allowed to pass through the Beit Hanoun checkpoint to reach hospitals during the month of April 2021, 230 patients were discharged for treatment through the Beit Hanoun checkpoint, which proves the intention of the occupation forces to inflict harm on these patients, and constitutes a collective punishment. .
Although the occupation authorities informed the Palestinian Civil Affairs Directorate that they would only allow life-saving cases to leave the Gaza Strip, they did not allow the vast majority of patients registered on the life-saving list to leave the Strip to reach hospitals.
Accordingly, the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights renews its strong condemnation of the continuation of the tight lockdown, which constitutes a grave violation that rises to the level of war crime, affects all aspects of civilian life and exacerbates the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, it calls on the international community to stop tolerating the blockade of Gaza and move immediately to end it and facilitate the movement of goods and individuals, including patients.
Al Mezan Center stresses that the permit system designed by the occupation authorities to completely control the residents of the Gaza Strip and blackmail them constitutes a violation of its obligations as the occupying power to facilitate the movement and movement of the population within the occupied territory, which requires the international community to move to stop this violation and work without delay to save the lives of patients in the Gaza Strip. And ending the occupation and empowering the Palestinian people to have their own right to self-determination.
