ISRAEL SABOTAGES MEDICAL MISSION TO PALESTINE

Please note that 3 articles follow:

*ISRAEL SABOTAGES MEDICAL MISSION GRETTA DUISENBERG
*Belgian doctors denied entry
*The Union of Health Work Committees Press Release


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ISRAEL SABOTAGES MEDICAL MISSION GRETTA DUISENBERG
Transfloor
June 23, 2003
http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=29

At Tel Aviv airport, doctors belonging to Gretta Duisenberg's Medical Fact Finding Mission Palestine, have been denied entry to the country.

Mrs. Duisenberg said the athmosphere at the airport wat utterly grim, and she gave the following statement to the press:

"We the Medical Fact Finding Mission Palestine, declare that we have not only been informed, but have now even experienced, that the Israeli state is conducting a policy of deliberate obstruction of both foreign and Palestinian medical workers.

The Israeli government has decided not to allow our medical-humanitarian team through customs at Ben Gurion Airport. This way, it effectively sabotages our research mission in the Palestinian territories. In medical care, the continuous re-evaluation of health care facilities is one of the cornerstones in building a healthy society. As medical doctors and health workers, it is our concern to see systems of medical care functioning smoothly, unhindered by any blockades or obstructions.

The facts and figures that we have obtained from various sources, including the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, indicate that the facts, concerning the continuing Israeli damage to Palestinian health care, are dramatic. Also, the press release issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross on June 17th 2003, clearly implicates that among other breaches of the 4th Geneva Convention, the occupation forces are engaged in actively blocking access to medical care for Palestinians.

The goal of our mission was to research whether there was evidence of deliberate obstruction of medical care. However, the Israeli government has made it impossible for us to investigate this issue.

It is time for the international community to intervene, by demanding from the United Nations to send a team of UN medical inspectors into the West Bank and Gaza, and to take over our urgent and necessary mission, that the Israeli government has prevented us from undertaking.

We intend to pursue all legal mechanisms to address the violations of humanitarian law, in order to ensure that those responsible for the violations of international humanitarian law will be held accountable."

Further information about the programme, press conferences and interviews can be obtained from: Wim Lankamp, at +31-6-28916795 or Karel van Broekhoven at +31-23-5245876 .
The delegation consists of Gretta Duisenberg, chairperson of Stop the Occupation, Tariq Shadid, general surgeon, and Henri van de Vall, internist from the Netherlands. The Belgian doctors are Prof. Guido van Ham, internist, Colette Moulaert, paediatrician, and Sofie Blancke, general and tropical medicine.

http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=29


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Belgian doctors denied entry
Transfloor
June 23, 2003
http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=26


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Two Belgian doctors are denied entry by Israel for a medical fact-finding mission in Palestine!
They are put on the return flight to Brussels

Upon arrival last night at 11:45 p.m. at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Dr. Sofie Blancke, a general practitioner (Medical Aid for the Third World/Medical Team), and Prof. Dr. Guido Vanham, internist (CODIP, Doctors for Peace and Flemish Palestine Committee) were held and put immediately on the first return flight to Brussels.

Together with the Dutch doctors Tariq Shadid and Henri Van de Vall and Ms. Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of the European Central Bank's president, they make part of the Medical Fact-Finding Mission Palestina. This mission, supported by the Action Platform Palestine, intends to investigate the health situation in the Occupied Territories from June 23 to 28.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs justifies the expulsion of the doctors saying that they wanted to enter Israel for political instead of medical reasons. Also the Dutch doctors would be denied entry while Ms. Duisenberg, on the other hand, would be admitted.

When investigation into the health situation in Palestine is forbidden, we can only fear the worst for the Palestinian people. Let this incident heighten our commitment to the struggle for the Palestinian people's rights!

http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=26


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The Union of Health Work Committees Press Release
Transfloor
June 23, 2003
http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=27

The Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is keen on drawing the attention of the international community to the Israeli oppressive measures applied against the Palestinian People and those working in humanitarian relief and solidarity with them.

The Union deeply condemns the denial of the Israeli government to allow a Belgian humanitarian physicians delegation to enter Palestine on 23/6/2003 and turning it back to Belgium. This delegation was scheduled to visit the Palestinian territories, participate in health activities and get acquainted with the health and humanitarian status of Palestinians.
Nevertheless, it was denied entry to the land.

We in the Union of Health Work Committees also warn from the risks of the brutal Israeli measures conveyed in the killings and assassinations of Palestinians in addition to home demolitions and closure and besiegement of cities and villages. For example: yesterdays operation that resulted in the killing of five Palestinians and the injury of tens.

Mobility of medical teams is restricted. Furthermore, they were shot at while performing their duties. Hospitals and medical centers were raided by the Israeli military. In mid-June, one of the UHWC’s ambulance vehicles was attacked and Halhoul Medical Center was barged in from which the injured were kidnapped and transported by Israeli military vehicles to unidentified locations.

The continuation of such policies seriously endangers the health of Palestinian children, women and elderly.

We call upon the International Community to act on the immediate termination of such acts.
We also request that the Israeli government is pressured to instantly stop its killing and destruction policy and that it retreats its forces from Palestinian lands.

Dr. Naim Abu Teir
West Bank

Dr. Rabah Muhanna
Gaza Strip

The Union of Health Work Committees

http://www.transfloor.nl/modules/news/article.php?storyid=27