ISRAEL’s blockade is a major obstacle to medical treatment for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) published today.

Entitled The Right to Health: Crossing Barriers to Access Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2017, the report criticised Israel’s “chronic occupation” and restrictions on the free movement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 

WHO spokesman Gerald Rockenschaub said that access to the best available healthcare is a fundamental right for every human being.

However, he warned that 2017 had seen the lowest approval rating on record for Gaza patients needing access to hospitals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel.

“This year, we have also witnessed a large number of attacks on health staff, ambulances and facilities, with the sad loss of three health colleagues killed while working to treat people injured during protests in the context of Gaza’s Great March of Return. 

“We face major challenges in the health sector across the occupied Palestinian territory, with reductions in funding and a shrinking humanitarian space,” he said.

The WHO report focused on key indicators for monitoring access to health in the occupied territories, detailing the barriers faced by Palestinians who require specialised care.

Life expectancy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is around 10 times lower than that of Israelis, with infant mortality rates four times higher.

The Palestinian healthcare system is in a state of chronic crisis due to shortages of funding, medication, equipment and a lack of specialist doctors and medical staff.

It is unable to provide specialist healthcare for complex medical problems in fields such as oncology, cardiology and orthopaedics, with many of those requiring treatment referred to private hospitals in East Jerusalem.

However, Palestinians require an Israeli-granted permit in order to travel outside the occupied territories to receive treatment.

UN humanitarian co-ordinator Jamie McGoldrick warned: “Israel’s restrictions on the free movement of Palestinians and its permit regime has severe consequences for access to healthcare of an extremely vulnerable group of patients in need of specialist treatments and investigation not available in Gaza or in the West Bank outside of East Jerusalem.”

He said the international community had a responsibility to “insist that Palestinians enjoy full and equal rights and have unhindered access to services needed to promote health and well-being.”