Palestine: Israeli lockdown in Hebron forces MSF to temporarily suspend care
Authorities must halt restrictive policies that amount to the collective punishment and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
For 10 days, Palestinians in Hebron and surrounding communities have faced military raids, forced evictions, arrests, demolitions of houses and businesses and severe movement restrictions, with disastrous consequences for their access to healthcare. Many people were prevented from reaching medical facilities, while healthcare workers and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff were unable to reach patients. It is unacceptable that entire communities are being deprived of healthcare because of sweeping movement restrictions. Israeli authorities must stop imposing restrictive policies which amount to collective punishment and ethnic cleansing.
The lockdown imposed by Israeli forces on Oct. 23 forced MSF to suspend our regular mobile clinics and in-person mental health consultations. Between Oct. 25 and 29 alone, we estimate at least 380 patients across five mobile clinic locations were unable to access medical consultations outside of Hebron city. These communities depend on our services for essential medicines, treatment of chronic diseases and mental healthcare.
At the same time, restrictions on the movement of medical supplies threaten to deepen existing shortages in an already strained health system. Patients with chronic illnesses, including cancer, face further uncertainty over access to essential treatment.
Beyond the obstruction of healthcare and reduced humanitarian access exacerbated by the military operation, the lockdown left thousands of Palestinians living in fear and uncertainty. Approximately 3,300* people were forcibly displaced, with some families given just one hour to leave their homes, carrying only a single bag and nowhere safe to go.
This lockdown comes on top of escalating settler violence, increased attacks on Palestinian communities during the olive harvest and the expansion of illegal settlements and outposts across the West Bank, further spreading a climate of fear and insecurity in which Palestinians are forced to live.
*According to the Hebron Municipality as of Nov. 1
Related news
Palestine: MSF resumes core lifesaving activities at Nasser hospital
Middle East and North Africa: Behind the armour, men’s mental health
Palestine: Ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian aid must flow immediately
