Israel/OPT
31.10.01
Urgent Interventions
Palestinian Occupied Territories: Israeli soldiers prevent the passage of those in need of urgent medical treatment
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN
Case ISR 311001.ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by B'Tselem, a member of the OMCT network, of Israeli soldiers engaged in preventing the passage of those in need of urgent medical treatment in the West Bank. The inability to enforce existing regulations has resulted in, among other cases, the death of a new born child after the expecting mother was refused access to hospital, as well as a kidney patients being prevented from getting vital dialysis treatment.
According to the information received, Fatma Isa Muhammad Abed Rabbo was seven months pregnant when she experienced labour pains and decided to go to the hospital on October 22, 2001. Accompanied by her husband and mother-in-law, she was driven to the military roadblock at al-Walajeh, which they needed to pass in order to get to the French Hospital.
At the roadblock the family was twice blocked from getting through, with soldiers claiming that the Ms. Abed Rabbo was not in a critical condition. Only when Ms. Abed Rabbo was actually in the process of giving birth in a taxi on the third attempt to reach the hospital, did the soldiers let them pass. As a result, she gave birth in the taxi, only reaching the hospital one and a half hours after the baby was born. Though the baby received treatment on arrival at the hospital he later died. Had the baby been born in the hospital it could have received the medical attention required for prematurely born babies and would most likely have survived.
OMCT has also been informed about other cases of passage being prevented to those requiring urgent medical treatment. On October 15, Fathiya Nawasra, a 60-year old kidney patient from the village of Fahma in the Jenin area, was refused passage at the IDF roadblock near the Shavei Shomron settlement. Mrs. Nawasra was on her way to the hospital in Nablus, where she receives three dialysis treatments per week. She arrived at the roadblock with her son and her daughter. When medical documents were presented by her daughter to the soldiers confirming her illness and need for urgent treatment, the daughter was sent away at gun-point. Only after intervention by B'Tselem were Mrs. Nawasra and her companions allowed to continue to the hospital.
Mrs. Nawasra is one of dozens of kidney patients in the West Bank who require regular dialysis treatment from one of three local hospitals: Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. The restrictions imposed on the movement of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories force these patients to use makeshift roads to reach the hospitals, adding hours to the journey and preventing some patients from reaching the hospital altogether.
Background information
On Thursday 19 October, the Israeli military imposed a hermetic siege on a number of West Bank towns, including Tulkarem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem, as part of extensive military operations occupying large territories within Areas A. These operations were launched following the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehevam Ze'evi, with the stated goal of capturing those suspected of acts of violence against the Israelis as well as preventing those planning acts of violence from leaving the cities.
This siege has led to severe violations of the human rights of the civilian population. These include the killing of many civilians, including children; the obstruction of access to medical treatment; the disruption of hospital operations as medical staff and medicine is unable to reach the hospitals; direct attacks on hospitals by the military; and a shortage of food in many areas.
Though the IDF does have regulations with the purpose of ensuring passage of urgent medical cases at roadblocks, they are not being enforced. The denial of access to health care is a direct violation of international law, as expressed in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This article expressly protects the rights of expectant mothers, the sick and the injured.
Action requested
Please write to the Israeli authorities urging them to:
i. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. enforce the regulation on ensuring passage to those in urgent need of medical attention;
iv. put an end to the restrictions on movement imposed on the Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Addresses:
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
· Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
· Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
· Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, October 31st, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Case ISR 311001.ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by B'Tselem, a member of the OMCT network, of Israeli soldiers engaged in preventing the passage of those in need of urgent medical treatment in the West Bank. The inability to enforce existing regulations has resulted in, among other cases, the death of a new born child after the expecting mother was refused access to hospital, as well as a kidney patients being prevented from getting vital dialysis treatment.
According to the information received, Fatma Isa Muhammad Abed Rabbo was seven months pregnant when she experienced labour pains and decided to go to the hospital on October 22, 2001. Accompanied by her husband and mother-in-law, she was driven to the military roadblock at al-Walajeh, which they needed to pass in order to get to the French Hospital.
At the roadblock the family was twice blocked from getting through, with soldiers claiming that the Ms. Abed Rabbo was not in a critical condition. Only when Ms. Abed Rabbo was actually in the process of giving birth in a taxi on the third attempt to reach the hospital, did the soldiers let them pass. As a result, she gave birth in the taxi, only reaching the hospital one and a half hours after the baby was born. Though the baby received treatment on arrival at the hospital he later died. Had the baby been born in the hospital it could have received the medical attention required for prematurely born babies and would most likely have survived.
OMCT has also been informed about other cases of passage being prevented to those requiring urgent medical treatment. On October 15, Fathiya Nawasra, a 60-year old kidney patient from the village of Fahma in the Jenin area, was refused passage at the IDF roadblock near the Shavei Shomron settlement. Mrs. Nawasra was on her way to the hospital in Nablus, where she receives three dialysis treatments per week. She arrived at the roadblock with her son and her daughter. When medical documents were presented by her daughter to the soldiers confirming her illness and need for urgent treatment, the daughter was sent away at gun-point. Only after intervention by B'Tselem were Mrs. Nawasra and her companions allowed to continue to the hospital.
Mrs. Nawasra is one of dozens of kidney patients in the West Bank who require regular dialysis treatment from one of three local hospitals: Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. The restrictions imposed on the movement of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories force these patients to use makeshift roads to reach the hospitals, adding hours to the journey and preventing some patients from reaching the hospital altogether.
Background information
On Thursday 19 October, the Israeli military imposed a hermetic siege on a number of West Bank towns, including Tulkarem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem, as part of extensive military operations occupying large territories within Areas A. These operations were launched following the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehevam Ze'evi, with the stated goal of capturing those suspected of acts of violence against the Israelis as well as preventing those planning acts of violence from leaving the cities.
This siege has led to severe violations of the human rights of the civilian population. These include the killing of many civilians, including children; the obstruction of access to medical treatment; the disruption of hospital operations as medical staff and medicine is unable to reach the hospitals; direct attacks on hospitals by the military; and a shortage of food in many areas.
Though the IDF does have regulations with the purpose of ensuring passage of urgent medical cases at roadblocks, they are not being enforced. The denial of access to health care is a direct violation of international law, as expressed in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This article expressly protects the rights of expectant mothers, the sick and the injured.
Action requested
Please write to the Israeli authorities urging them to:
i. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. enforce the regulation on ensuring passage to those in urgent need of medical attention;
iv. put an end to the restrictions on movement imposed on the Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Addresses:
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
· Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
· Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
· Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, October 31st, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.