Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Palestinian Patients Suffer From Political Rivalry


By Mel Frykberg

"RAMALLAH, Aug 24, 2010 (IPS) - Cancer patient Ahmed Abu Fuad needs chemotherapy to survive. Muhammad Subeh needs an eye-transplant while paramedic Alaa Sarhan desperately needs surgery to remove shrapnel from his body. But these Gazans are unable to leave the area to seek the required medical treatment elsewhere, and it is not because of the Israeli siege.

Hundreds of Gazans have fallen victim to the infighting between the Hamas and Fatah – who govern in Gaza and the West Bank respectively – as passports have become the latest weapon in their political conflict.

Fiza Za’anin is a member of the Beit Hanoun council in northern Gaza. She is also a midwife who won a UN prize for her work with women and children during Israel’s military assault on Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009. At least 1,400 Gazans, most of them civilians, were killed in the attack.

The Israelis granted Za’anin a security permit to pass through the Erez crossing into Israel and attend a course in East Jerusalem. But she is unable to travel to the U.S. to receive her UN prize as the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah has denied her request for a passport. The reason, the Beit Hanoun council she works for is associated with Hamas...."

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