Democratic Palestine : 40 (ص 5)
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- Democratic Palestine : 40 (ص 5)
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Health Care during the Intifada
by Itimad Musa
Among the images the Palestinian intifada has evoked,
some of the more vivid show the injuries inflicted by the
occupation forces: a nine-month-old baby girl stares blankly
ahead with one eye, the other lost to a rubber bullet fired
by an Israeli soldier; a bruised and bandaged young man
beaten by troops raises two broken arms set in casts to make
double victory signs. The struggle to tend the wounded,
fight disease and malnutrition in communities frequently
besieged and under curfew and, in general, raising and
maintaining a healthy population is at the essence of the
Palestinian struggle today. With the uprising well on the way
to marking its third year, the protractive struggle is
emphasizing the importance of issues like health care as vital
battlegrounds which will affect the continuation of the
intifada, and, beyond that, the future independent Palesti-
nian state.
Historic battleground
From the beginning of the 1967 occupation, the Israeli
authorities have targeted the health care infrastructure in
their effort to create a dependent, submissive population.
Meanwhile, the accompanying official propaganda about the
health care situation in the occupied territories has lauded
the «improved health» of the population, presumably as a
result of the «enlightened occupation.» But reality tells
another story. According to the Popular Committees for
Health Services, one of the grass-roots medical committees
operating in the occupied territories, several constraints and
practices in force since 1967 have hindered the development
of the health sector. These include the decline in the
number of functional hospitals due to their being closed by
the Israeli authorities or converted into detention centers.
Coupled with this, prohibiting the expansion of existing hos-
pitals and blocking the construction of new ones has led to
a decrease in the ratio of hospital beds per population since
1967 from 1.9 to 1.2 per 1,000. In addition, medical equip-
ment, supplies; work permits and training for health profes-
sionals have been consistently blocked by the authorities,
creating a situation where even existing facilities are poorly
equipped and under-staffed. While the cost of medical ser-
vices has risen, Israel’s expenditure on health services has
dropped.
Major negative impact on the health of the occupied
population comes as a result of nefarious negligence on the
part of the authorities vis-a-vis the environment. Poor sani-
tation and contaminated water supplies are endemic in the
occupied territories, such that leading causes of death
among Palestinian children include diarrhea, intestinal and
respiratory diseases. Clearly, creating a situation of
deteriorating health conditions is part of the Israeli policy of
encouraging «voluntary transfer» when Palestinians
«choose» to emigrate because living conditions are unbear-
able.
The fight for Palestinian health care is as old as the
occupation itself. But the intifada has heightened the stakes
in all areas as the embattled population attempts to deal
Democratic Palestine, July-August 1990
with its grave medical needs, while asserting its control over
this important aspect of life.
Among the major findings of the report issued during
the first year of the uprising by the America-based organi-
zation Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) were the follow-
ing two conclusions: 1.) The medical care system in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, of marginal adequacy to begin
with, is being overwhelmed by the daily burden of serious
trauma. It lacks the resources to deal with injury on this
scale and is less and less able to meet the ordinary medical
care needs of the population it serves, and 2.) The violence
is not only producing injuries with serious short-term con-
sequences. It is steadily creating a cohort of patients with
senious long-term orthopedic, neurological and _neuro-
psychiatric injuries. These patients will require prolonged
physical and psychological rehabilitation, on a scale which
massively outstrips presently available resources and
facilities. These findings delineate at least two important
issues facing health care workers in the occupied territories:
how to respond to the serious medical situation resulting
from Israel’s attempts to crush the intifada, and what
strategies need to be formulated so that Palestinians can
look forward to a healthy future.
A young Palestinian, whose arms were broken by Israeli soldiers,
in his hospital bed. -Judith Gabriel - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 40
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