Rights group warns Israel's policies are pushing the West Bank healthcare system to collapse
Summary
A report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel says that Israeli policies have pushed the West Bank’s health system close to collapse. Israel has withheld about $2.5 billion in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, making it hard for hospitals and clinics to operate properly and for patients to get medicine.Key Facts
- Bassam Musleh, a 70-year-old patient with heart problems, struggled for six months to get his medicines due to shortages.
- About 75% of public clinics and hospitals in the West Bank have reduced their operations to only one or two days a week.
- Israel has withheld tax and customs revenues collected for the Palestinian Authority since 2023.
- The withheld funds total at least $2.5 billion as of June 2024.
- The Palestinian Authority depends on Israel to collect taxes because it does not control its own borders.
- Israeli military raids and more checkpoints are making it harder for Palestinians to access medical care.
- Physicians for Human Rights Israel warns this situation puts patients’ lives at risk.
- Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stopped sending these monthly revenues last year.
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