Healthcare System Faces Mounting Pressure

According to a recent report published by Physicians for Human Rights Israel, the healthcare system in the occupied West Bank has almost collapsed due to the financial constraints, lack of mobility, and continuous military actions. The rights group notes that the situation has been deteriorating for several years since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The report notes that one of the most problematic issues is the financial crisis faced by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli authorities have withheld over $2.5 billion in taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian authority. Usually, the funds help to pay for the services provided by the Palestinian government, including healthcare services. In the absence of the funding, the Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay its medical workers, provide medications, and run its health facilities.

Medical Services Reduced Across the West Bank

According to the report, about 75% of healthcare centers in the West Bank have been forced to limit their services to either one or two days in a week. Hospitals and clinics are facing difficulties in having medicines, equipment, and healthcare personnel due to continued financial stress.

The problem has been further compounded by movement restrictions imposed on people, ambulances, and medical personnel due to checkpoints and raids by the Israeli military. According to the report, there have been many instances where lack of timely access to treatment facilities resulted in death of patients. People suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiac ailments, elderly patients, and internally displaced persons have been particularly hard hit.

Aid Groups Struggle to Fill the Gap

There has been an increased demand for volunteer organizations and UN-supported mobile clinics since the availability of public health care has decreased. The problem with these humanitarian organizations is that they suffer from insufficient funding and travel problems, which prevent them from offering assistance. The mental health sector suffers due to increased demand for the psychological effects of conflict and displacement.

Furthermore, the report states that humanitarian organizations, such as Doctors without Borders, have scaled down their activities after the Israeli authorities suspended licenses in the region.

Israeli Response

Israeli military authorities deny that they are in any way preventing access to healthcare services. There is nothing like a strategy from their side to block Palestinians from accessing healthcare services, they state. But according to the rights organization, all these measures together have created a lot of hurdles for the West Bank's healthcare system.