Physicians for Human Rights-Israel www.phr.org.il

Press Release

Tougher for Patients from Gaza to enter Israel

4 July 2005 (15:30 Israel Time)

On 20 June 2005, a Palestinian woman with a travel permit given for medical
reasons tried to pass through Erez Crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel
with an explosive device in her possession and the intention to explode it
in an Israeli hospital. Obviously Israel has the responsibility to protect
its citizens and defend itself from such a threat. However, as was mentioned
in the press release from that day, it cannot use collective punishment
against ill Palestinians.

What follows is a description of three cases which portray the toughening of
the restrictions for women wishing to enter Israel for medical purposes:

1) A.J., a 7-year old child from Gaza, suffers from a brain tumor. He
has been treated for the past two years in Tel Hashomer Hospital. Recently
Tel Hashomer decided to refer him for examinations at Rambam Hospital in
Haifa. The test was specifically ordered for the child and requires
hospitalization for two days- tomorrow and the following day. According to
the Health Coordinator for the Palestinian Population at Rambam: "If the
test is not conducted by 9:00 am the material will dissolve and will not be
usable", meaning the test will not be conducted. The child's doctor at Tel
Hashomer- the referring physician- established that due to the failure of
the chemotherapy treatment, the test at Rambam is the only one that can help
the child. The child's father is not allowed to enter Israel, and the child
always entered with his mother. Now his mother is denied as well, and in
spite of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel's intervention she has not yet
received a permit. Of course, without someone to accompany him, the child
cannot enter to receive treatment. The case is urgent.

Update: [At 14:15 today Physicians for Human Rights-Israel sent out this
press release to the Israeli Media. Following intervention by the media and
increased pressure by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel the organization
was informed by the Legal Advisor to the Israeli Army in the Gaza Strip at
15:00 that the mother will be able to enter with her child today. At the
time of this release they have not yet passed through Erez- please maintain
contact with PHR-Israel for the most updated information. As always,
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is concerned about those cases that are
not brought to our attention and those who cannot apply pressure on the
Israeli authorities.]

2) A.M., aged 8 from Gaza, has cancer and is regularly treated at
Ichilov Hospital. He had an appointment to continue his chemotherapy
treatment. However, his mother was denied entry into Israel, for the purpose
of accompanying him, even though she had received permits in the past.
Eventually, after waiting for several days and after Physicians for Human
Rights-Israel intervened, the child's father was allowed to accompany him.

3) A.A., from Gaza, is two years old and suffers from a brain tumor. He
is treated at Tel Hashomer Hospital. His doctor made an appointment for him
to undergo chemotherapy treatments last Thursday, but his mother was denied
entry, even though she regularly accompanied him prior to this incident.
Following intervention by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel the father
received a permit for today- four days after the original appointment.

Over the past several years, many men in the Gaza Strip have been
systematically blocked from entering Israel by the army. Now the women too
are blocked. The question is: can children, such as those described above,
and others in need of accompaniment, go alone for medical treatment inside
Israel? The toughening of restrictions proves that the medical consideration
is pushed aside. These are just some of the incidents. There are others, it
can be assumed, that do not reach Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel calls upon Israel to fulfill it
obligation toward the patients from the territories it occupies and to allow
them to enter Israel for medical treatment to improve their health and save
their lives, especially treatments unavailable in the area where the
patients live- such as the incidents described above.

Shabtai Gold, Public Outreach, +972-54-4860630