WHO is concerned about the escalation of the health crisis in the West Bank

WHO remains concerned about the escalating health crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, where attacks on health infrastructure and increased restrictions on movement are hampering access to health care.

A sharp increase in violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 521 Palestinians, including 126 children, between October 7, 2023 and June 10, 2024. Furthermore, over 5,200 people, including 800 children, were injured, adding to the ever-increasing burden of trauma and emergency care on already overburdened healthcare facilities.

As of May 28, WHO has documented 480 attacks on health care in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, resulting in 16 deaths and 95 injuries. The attacks hit 54 health facilities, 20 mobile clinics and 319 ambulances. Fifty-nine percent of the attacks took place in the cities of Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus. They include attacks on health infrastructure and ambulances, detention of health workers and patients, disruption of their access to health facilities, use of force on health workers and militarized searches of ambulances and staff.

The closure of checkpoints, arbitrary obstruction and detention of health workers, growing insecurity, as well as the siege and closure of entire towns and communities have made movement within the West Bank increasingly restricted, hindering access to health facilities. Extensive damage to infrastructure and housing, particularly in the northern West Bank, has worsened the situation, hampering access for emergency vehicles and first responders.

The long-term fiscal crisis facing the Palestinian Authority (PA) is further affecting the health system, and has been exacerbated by increased Israeli withholding of tax revenues intended for the Occupied Palestinian Territory since October 7 and the overall deterioration of the economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The impact of the financial situation on the provision of health services is significant – health workers receive only half of their salary for almost a year, and 45% of basic medicines are out of stock. In most areas of the West Bank, primary care clinics and outpatient specialist clinics are now open two days a week, and hospitals are operating at approximately 70% capacity.

Between October 2023 and May 2024, 44% of 28,292 requests for patients to seek medical care outside the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Israeli health facilities were denied or pending, with access mostly granted to cancer, dialysis and other life-saving cases. In the same period, 48% of the 26,562 applications for a companion permit were rejected or are still pending.

A comparison between October 2022-May 2023 and October 2023-May 2024 shows a 56% drop in West Bank patient permit requests and a 22% drop in approvals, and a 63% drop in companion permit requests and a drop of 24% in approvals. Before October 2023, more than 300 patients a day needed permission to cross from the West Bank to East Jerusalem and Israeli health facilities.

WHO supports the Ministry of Health by providing essential medicines as well as technical assistance in solving some of the policies and procedures that contribute to the fiscal crisis in health. In addition, WHO pre-positioned supplies to key hospitals across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and conducted community trauma management training for first responders in affected communities to increase emergency preparedness, but exacerbated insecurity and the availability for emergency medical workers and field volunteers to reach the injured, combined with constant strict curfews, pose significant risks to the health system and make it difficult for aid providers to reach those in urgent need.

WHO calls for urgent and active protection of civilians and health care in the West Bank. International humanitarian law must be respected, which means that the sanctity of health care must be respected at all times.