Israeli High Court orders government to reconsider denial of medical care

Tuesday November 13, 2007 03:01 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC

The Israeli High court on Monday ruled that the Israeli government policy of denying entry permits to dying Palestinians for “security reasons” should be reexamined.

The Court gave the state one week to justify or reverse its decision.

The case was brought to the court's attention by the Israeli organization Physicians for Human Rights who, since Palestinians are unable to bring cases to the court, decided to represent a total of eleven plaintiffs who had been denied entry.

Just before Monday’s court ruling, the Israeli secret service, the Shin Bet, granted the entry of four of the patients.

The remaining seven plaintiffs are all dying, but their deaths could be prevented with proper medical care, according to the Physicians for Human Rights. The remaining cases are all residents of the Gaza Strip and, as such, require Israeli-issues permits to travel to Israel, the West Bank, or abroad for proper treatment. Many of the patients have been waiting months for such visas.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly refused to issue travel permits, with a only a handful being granted since Hamas established control in the Gaza Strip several months ago.

Physicians for Human Rights estimate that at least five Palestinians have died as a direct result of being denied medical care by Israeli authorities.

israel | human rights | news report saed at imemc dot org