West Bank healthcare system is collapsing due to Israeli policies, rights group says

Key Points:

• A report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel highlights that Israeli policies, including withholding $2.5 billion in tax revenues and imposing movement restrictions, have pushed the West Bank's healthcare system to the brink of collapse, severely limiting access to medications and medical services.
• The Palestinian Authority struggles to pay health workers and supply public hospitals and clinics, with 75% of facilities operating only once or twice a week, leading to staff shortages, delayed surgeries, and closures of primary healthcare centers.
• Increased Israeli military checkpoints and roadblocks have caused life-threatening delays in medical care, resulting in preventable deaths, including stillbirths and fatalities from heart attacks and other emergencies.
• Humanitarian organizations face operational challenges due to revoked licenses and restrictions, leading to reduced mobile clinic services and impacting tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom rely on such clinics for essential treatment.
• The ongoing healthcare crisis has also severely affected the mental health of Palestinians, with many expressing feelings of suffocation and despair as they endure long waits and lack of adequate medical care.