26 November, 2015. The Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee department that handles applications from medical patients went on strike today, to protest the policy of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) regarding medical patients from Gaza who require treatment in Israel, as well as the treatment they receive from officials at the Erez crossing.
Sources in the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee told Gisha that two days ago, they were verbally informed by the COGAT’s office that the age of Palestinians permitted to accompany medical patients who enter Israel for treatment would now be limited to 55 and over. The immediate effect of restricting the age of persons accompanying patients is that many patients, especially children, would have difficulties accessing treatment with no accompanying persons who meet the threshold requirement.
The Committee also protests Israel’s decision to further restrict the types of illnesses for which permits to enter Israel for treatment would be given. Kidney patients, individuals with ocular, neurological and orthopedic conditions would find it difficult to obtain permits. The Committee says the Israelis claim this decision was made after patients in these categories were late returning to Gaza.
The Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee noted a drop in the percentage of applications made by patients in these categories that were approved by the military over the last few weeks.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel – which offers assistance to individuals whose requests for travel for essential treatment have been refused by Israel – says that since August, more than half the applicants belong to one of the four medical categories that were further restricted by Israel. An increasing number of patients who have received permits to exit Gaza have been questioned and interrogated at the Erez crossing recently, and we have learnt that patients returning home to Gaza after lengthy treatments abroad have also faced difficulties.
In unofficial conversations, COGAT officials say that there have been no changes to the categories for travel by medical patients. Either way, COGAT has not been publishing new information on its website lately and has not distributed the updated document listing who is permitted to travel to and from the oPt (the “closure permissions status” document) other than to Gisha directly, and only after we’ve requested it.
If it turns out that Israel has, in fact, significantly reduced patients’ chances of accessing essential treatment – the matter is very serious. The control Israel exercises over civilian life in Gaza and which significantly impacts the quality of life in the Strip, comes with obligations, including making critical medical treatment available to those who need it. Not so long ago, Israel took pride (Hebrew) in the particularly high percentage of applications for treatment that get approved – more than 90%. COGAT’s website stated that this percentage “demonstrates Israel’s treatment of humanitarian and medical cases and the importance and urgency attached to processing these types of requests”. Since 2007 COGAT’s policy was to approve travel in cases of “exceptional humanitarian cases”, though now it appears that the policy does not even adhere to this minimal principle.
Indiscriminately harming a group of people who are by definition disempowered, suffering from chronic diseases and requiring special medical treatments – is more than just unlawful, it is immoral and it must be stopped immediately.