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Nurses sacked by hospital blame Israeli travel ban

PALESTINIAN nurses from the besieged Gaza strip staged a protest on Wednesday against their dismissal from an East Jerusalem hospital, which they say is because of an Israeli-imposed travel ban.

The seven fired nurses, each with at least 20 years’ service at the Makassed Hospital, gathered in a public square in Gaza City wearing medical gowns with banners reading: “Firing us is a death sentence for our profession and families.”

Critical-care nurse Baher Lulu, who worked at the hospital for 30 years, said: “We never expected that Makassed would dismiss us arbitrarily. This has hurt us and our families, who rely heavily on this income.”

The sacked health workers blame Israeli occupying authorities, citing a system that requires them to apply for permits to allow them to travel from Gaza to Jerusalem for work.

The nurses say that they used to receive renewable three-month permits allowing them to return to Gaza at weekends, but by 2016 Israel gradually stopped issuing them, and by 2019 none had the required papers.

They were initially asked by the hospital to volunteer at local health facilities until the matter was resolved, but learned of their dismissal in a letter sent with a patient returning from treatment in the summer.

Makassed Hospital has suffered as a result of US President Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to cut funding for health care in the occupied territories, leaving the hospital unable to pay salaries.

Unemployment in Gaza stands at nearly 50 per cent.

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