WHO: Israel turning away sick Gazans, who die in 'avoidable tragedies'

[subsuelo]

Israel has turned away more sick Palestinians from Gaza seeking treatment since Hamas seized control of the coastal strip and several have died each month unnecessarily, a United Nations agency said on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Israel denied entry permits to 18.5 percent of patients seeking to leave the Gaza Strip in 2007 versus 10 percent in 2006.

The WHO said 32 Gazans died between October 1 and March 2 while waiting for travel permits.

It could not provide comparative figures and said it was hard to measure whether faster treatment would have saved them, characterizing many of the deaths as unnecessary.

"All these tragedies could have been easily avoided," WHO's head of office for the West Bank and Gaza, Ambrogio Manenti, told a news conference. Palestinian medical officials in Gaza say more than 100 Gaza patients have died since June after being denied permits.

read more

[Submariner]

1. Israel has become a strange country

One would think that since they understand personal persecution so well, they would be very sensitive to inflicting racism via their apartheid wall and not treating the sick who need medical care. What a weird state of affairs to have such a miserable existence.

[Fredda Weinberg]

2. 50 years of conflict will do that to you. It's not so strange ... just different n/t

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[subsuelo]

4. Nice excuses for allowing innocent people to die

Congratulations on your achievement