topic by
John Calvin
5/5/2002 (17:44) |
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Palestinian officials warned of a medical catastrophe
Ramallah -May 5,2002-Wafa - Palestinian officials on Saturday warned of a medical catastrophe in the Occupied Palestinian Territory due to continuous Israeli aggression and continued siege.
In a press conference held at the Palestine Media Center (PMC), Dr. Munther Al-Sharif, Deputy Minister of Health warned that due to continuous Israeli aggression and continued siege, the medical conditions are critical. He added, 'The situation has become even worse since the beginning of the Israeli invasion of Palestinian cities. The fact that medical teams were not allowed to move freely in the Palestinian cities, towns, and villages, has seriously obstructed the work of 320 medical clinics in these areas'.
Dr. Al-Sharif also warned that there are over 'half a million Palestinian children, who are in great danger of developing serious illnesses because the Israeli siege has prevented them from receiving the needed inculcations'. He added, 'Because of this situation, we are witnessing an increase in the cases of children infected in diseases such as, tetanus and typhoid, which could have been easily prevented had the infected children received the needed inculcation in time'. The health official also warned that the destruction of the water network and other vital infrastructure could lead to the spread of dangerous diseases unless immediate action is taken.
For his part Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (Palestine's largest health NGO) described the Israeli aggression against Palestinian medical teams and institutions as 'systematic'. He stated, 'The Israeli aggression aimed to obstruct the medical services from reaching the patient and attack the medical teams, which were carrying out their duties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory'.
Dr. Barghouthi pointed out that Israeli occupation forces attacked Palestinian medical teams on 128 separate instances during the invasion period. He also strongly condemned that Israeli forces' use of Palestinian doctors as human shields. He also warned that 'Sharon's buffer zones plans' would lead to the paralysis of the Palestinian medical system and services.
On the subject of the atrocities committed in Jenin, Dr. Barghouthi stated, 'During the Israeli offensive against the Jenin camp, Israeli occupation forces prevented medical teams from reaching the camp and evacuating the wounded for days. As a result, tens of wounded were left bleeding for days and died as a result of their wounds and the lack of medical care. This is considered a massacre in all international conventions'.
Dr. Barghouthi also revealed that the number of Palestinians killed sine October 2000 has reached 1647 and that 40,000 Palestinians were also injured during the same period. 'If the Palestinian casualties are translated into numbers relative to the American population, we would have at least 150,000 dead and 10,000,000 wounded', he pointed out.
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