Palestinians Are Dying Due to Lack of Travel Permits
According to research released by the World Health Organization, 54 palestinians died last year due to delays or rejections of medical permits from Israel. 25,000 permit requests were submitted in 2017, and of those 54% were approved. This is down from 62% in 2016, and 92% in 2012. Israel has slowly been increasing security measures and decreasing permits since 2007 when Hamas took control of the territory. Access to healthcare was further reduced in 2013 when the border between Egypt and Gaza was closed. Before then, around 4000 Palestinians traveled to Egypt for medical care. Israel has also simply made access to permits and thus healthcare more difficult. For example, a child must have an adult over the age of 50 to accompany them through the border. If you or your child don’t happen to have access to a 50+ year old, your child will simply be unable to access life-saving appointments, such as chemo or radiation. The 50 year old limit is completely arbitrary, designed only to limit access to healthcare and cause hardship and possible death for Palestinians. ...