Palestinian mother stopped from accompanying sick child

JERUSALEM

Israel on Thursday stopped a Palestinian mother from accompanying her three-year-old son from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to receive cancer treatment, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

Unnamed security sources quoted by Haaretz attributed the move to the fact that the woman was a “close relative” of a Hamas member.

Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip has led to a dramatic deterioration of public health services.

Palestinians in blockaded Gaza who suffer serious illnesses generally must seek treatment abroad or at hospitals in Israel or in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In order to leave the Gaza Strip, however, they must obtain special permits from Israel, requests for which are usually rejected for “security reasons”.

JERUSALEM

Israel on Thursday stopped a Palestinian mother from accompanying her three-year-old son from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to receive cancer treatment, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

Unnamed security sources quoted by Haaretz attributed the move to the fact that the woman was a “close relative” of a Hamas member.

Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip has led to a dramatic deterioration of public health services.

Palestinians in blockaded Gaza who suffer serious illnesses generally must seek treatment abroad or at hospitals in Israel or in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In order to leave the Gaza Strip, however, they must obtain special permits from Israel, requests for which are usually rejected for “security reasons”.