Increasing numbers of Palestinians Enter Israel for Medical Treatment

According to the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT), over 20,000 permits were issued to Palestinians living in West Bank to enter Israel for medical treatment,  up by nearly 3,000 from 2018.

From the J post 

Palestinians get more Medical Treatment in Israel in 2018

Medical coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been ongoing since 1995 and continues to increase each year, despite ebbs and flows on the security and diplomatic fronts.

As one representative from the program who asked to remain anonymous explained, “treatment must go on” even in times of high tension, including during each of the two intifadas and the more recent uptick of violence in the West Bank.

The Israeli health coordinator trains Palestinian doctors in Israel, helping to improve their capacity to treat patients in the West Bank. Palestinian doctors are paired with professionals from Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem and they become colleagues and friends.

From Cogat

In addition, this department facilitates health professionals from Gaza to attend industry conferences and seminars. This educational participation is designed to keep them current on up-and-coming medical advancements in order to contribute to the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. In 2016, 275 medical professionals from Gaza received visas to participate in medical workshops and seminars in Israel.

Hamas Terror Tunnel discovered under UN School in Gaza

Earlier this week, UNWRA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees uncovered a tunnel belonging to Hamas underneath 2 elementary schools in  Gaza 

The tunnel passes underneath both the Maghazi Elementary Boys School and the Maghazi Preparatory Boys School.

The agency has filed a complaint with Hamas and has stated:

"It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," it said. "The construction and presence of tunnels under UN premises are incompatible with the respect of privileges and immunities owed to the United Nations under applicable international law, which provides that UN premises shall be inviolable. The sanctity and neutrality of UN premises must be preserved at all times."

The agency also said it condemns “the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms,” adding that it was “unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon  responded to the news by stating “the cruelty of Hamas knows no bounds as they use the children of Gaza as human shields. Instead of UN schools serving as centers of learning and education, Hamas has turned them into terror bases for attacks on Israel.”

Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories  (COGAT's) response

On June 1st, a Hamas terror tunnel was discovered under the UNRWA School for Boys in Al-Maghazi.

Hamas’ act of using children as human shields with complete disregard for their lives is appalling, but sadly not surprising. The Arab world is in agreement and has shown complete understanding about who is responsible for ruining the lives of Palestinians and their prospects for a better future.

On Thursday, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz issued an article with the statement: ”Hamas is the one leading Gaza into humanitarian disaster in that it takes over and confiscates humanitarian aid and threatens the lives of residents as it digs tunnels under schools and hospitals in order to take advantage of residents as human shields."

It is clear that the Arab world has recognized Hamas as responsible for the destruction of the Gaza Strip, eliminating any hope of a positive future for the Gazan people. Perhaps the time has come for the residents of the Gaza Strip to draw the same conclusion.

Terror groups in Gaza have used UNRWA facilities in the past.  A UN inquiry found  that Palestinian groups hid weapons in three UN-run schools in Gaza and  likely used UNRWA schools  to fire rockets at Israel during Operation Protective Edge.

For more information

UNWRA discovers Hamas Tunnel under Gaza schools

UNRWA uncovers Hamas-dug tunnel under school in Gaza

Why Israel still needs checkpoints.

Two sisters from Gaza were arrested today after they were stopped at the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza.  They were caught smuggling explosives for Hamas in medical supplies. One of the sisters was receiving medical treatment for cancer in Israel, and the explosives were found hidden inside tubes labelled "medical materials"

According to the Shin bet, Hamas was behind the attempt and the explosives were to be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices for attacks within Israel .

“This is a continuation of the attempts by terrorist organizations in Gaza, mainly Hamas, to abuse the humanitarian channel and the medical aid Israel provides to Gaza residents to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel,” the Shin Bet said.

From COGAT

Data gathered by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) indicates that since the beginning of 2015 and mid-2016, more than 360,000 Palestinians entered Israel for humanitarian needs and approximately 1,000 Palestinian physicians received medical training in Israel or abroad. The Civil Administration says, "We see medical care as the highest priority and there is no compromise on the subject; we're doing whatever it takes to save a life.”

If only Hamas felt the same way.

Breaking the Silence.Confessions of an IDF soldier

"For the last year, I have served with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. A military unit within the Ministry of Defense, COGAT is responsible for driving Israel’s civil policy in Judea and Samaria and towards the Gaza Strip. Our mission was simple, yet complicated: help Israel by helping the Palestinians. Improve the quality of civilian life as much as possible to create a positive dynamic of hope and progress. "

Eylon Aslan-Levy, a British-Israeli political commentator writes about his stint in COGAT for the Times of Israel

We worked with international partners to promote four new industrial estates in Judea and Samaria. We connected Rawabi to water. We signed a deal with the very generous Dutch to install a new cargo scanner at Kerem Shalom. We enabled the transfer of more than 2.5 million tons of construction materials to Gaza, virtually tripling the number of trucks entering the Strip. Just last week, we signed a deal with the PA for Palestinian cellular operators to develop 3G services. I wish I could discuss more, but alas, national security and secrecy prevent me.

Sometimes I felt like I was working for the Israeli branch of an international aid organization. But this is a real unit in the Israeli army, acting in clear accordance with the political directives of the democratically elected government. Israel knows that whatever the fire holds, it needs foundations; we worked with the PA and international community to build them.

Read it all here

Avi Mayer: Another Side of Israel

  Another Side of Israel: The Impact of Tikkun Olam 
 
 Written by Avi Mayer, the Director of New Media at The Jewish Agency for Israel.  Follow him on Twitter @avimayer.

On a chilly day in the middle of February, seven young Syrian men appeared near the border fence separating the Syrian and Israeli sides of the wind-swept Golan Heights. Suffering from gunshot wounds, their bodies riddled with shrapnel, they called out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers guarding their side of the fence and asked for permission to draw near. When the IDF soldiers saw the Syrians' condition, they immediately permitted them entry, provided them with first aid, and transported them in military ambulances to Ziv Hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed for further treatment.

"This is not the first time in the hospital's history that we have received wounded individuals from the other side of the border," hospital director Dr. Oscar Embon later said. "It is always a humanitarian activity and we concentrate on the wounded as we would on any other wounded person, focusing solely on the medical issue without going into other matters. We treat every wounded person as he is, and it does not matter where the person comes from."...

The seven Syrian men who staggered toward their country's border with Israel in February knew that their supposed enemy to the southwest would come to their aid when they needed it most. Indeed, Israel's commitment to helping those in need is embedded in the country's national DNA. It has manifested itself throughout Israel's existence and continues to do so in a myriad of ways, both close to home and at the furthest reaches of the globe.

 In spite of the continuing conflict with the Palestinians, Israel has always extended its hand to its neighbors, offering  aid and humanitarian assistance to those in need.

According to the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Defense Ministry department responsible for implementing government policy vis-à-vis the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 210,469 Palestinians in need of medical care were admitted into Israel to receive treatment in Israeli hospitals in 2012. A report by the World Health Organization found that 91.5% of applications to enter Israel for medical purposes were approved in 2012, while a further 7.2% were awaiting approval, pending security clearance.

Israeli nongovernmental organizations play an important role as well. One NGO, Save a Child's Heart (SACH), works with Israeli government agencies and medical centers to provide lifesaving medical treatment to children from 44 developing countries, including some that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. Approximately half of the 3,000 children treated through the program have been Palestinians, 70% of whom have come from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Though Iraq has been at a state of war with Israel since 1948, dozens of Iraqi children have received medical care in the Jewish state. SACH is the largest organization of its kind in the world and all medical staff involved in the program work voluntarily.

Read Avi Mayer's article in its entirety here , and help spread the word.