Jail sentences. Encounter deaths. And now, lack of medical facilities in Gaza curses the livelihood of Palestinians.
The vitriol of political diplomacy sinks in when one reads how thousands of Palestinian patients, suffering from the worst of diseases and medical abnormalities are unable to travel to Egypt, Jordan or Israel due to visa detentions. Back at home, the medical facilities in Gaza and West Bank are even more egregiously dismal.
The Palestinian Minister of Health in Gaza, Dr Bassem Naim, revealed how Gaza, in spite of being developed, depends on smuggling fuel for generating electricity, basically from Egypt. ‘When would electricity be available?’. Well, the answer defines or controls everything from operations, commutation, education and even water supply.
A leaked news from the secret meeting in Jordan involving Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian intelligence states how they were devising ways of strangling Hamas . Stopping the fuel and energy supply to Gaza is one of the fundamental steps towards it.
Dr Bassem Naim stated how Egyptians also suffer. In North Sinai, for around 3-4 km, people wait for 24 hours for fuel, by being lined up in queues. For the past six months, Egyptians have become strict against this illegal smuggling. They have started controlling every tank from the entrance of Suez Canal, worsening the situation in Gaza.
Though, comparatively, Gaza suffers more than West Bank from humanitarian crisis. With 1.8 million people stuffed in 365 km, Gaza definitely is a prison. With Israeli drones operating all the time, besieged air and sea channels, human life in Palestine depends on dodging military, confining one’s space and appeasing the occupation. Everyday, there are 3-4 cases of burn, 45% of them being third degree burns. Most of these patients do not get proper state funding and hence, face premature deaths.
After the 13th September 1993 Oslo Accords, the Gaza citizens have been allowed to enter only three sea miles in the adjoining Red Sea. If they cross the limit, they are shot.
Even banks inside Gaza suffer from financial boycotts along with political isolation. Dr Bassem Naim exposed how he cant open a bank account for humanitarian funding for the hospitals in Gaza.
The borders are tightly closed. Gaza faces six gates with Israel and one gate with Egypt. Currently, only two of them are open officially. To travel through air, Palestinians needs Israeli licenses, sometimes, months in advance. Only those who pass the security tests ends up having the permit. Mostly, Palestinians face a strict ‘no’.
Dr Bassem Naim states how the running cost of hospitals in Gaza amounts to $50 million but the state is not left with a single penny. He had to close dental clinics as there was no money to buy gloves. The Friday deaths in emergency cases during the prayer times have become a common phenomenon.
In 2008, Israel tried to suffocate Gaza strip with the help of Palestinian Authority. All the civil servants were asked to take forced sabbaticals. Otherwise, they would be fired.
Even 3 million kg of explosives were used by Israeli government against the citizens of Gaza, amounting to at least 2kg per citizen. Specimens of forbidden materials like uranium and cobalt have been found in the bomb attacks.
Thousands of Palestinians are still in jails. Israel has recently also adopted new models for arresting children.
Ultimately, twenty years of reconciliation have failed if deaths of innocent victims is the result of it. Dr Naim suggested that perhaps unifying institutions between Gaza and West Bank might help, ultimately leading to unification of government sector.
shubhdachaudhary 