In spat with Hamas, PA refusing to pay medical bill for wounded Gazans

“The residents of the Gaza Strip are paying the price of the conflict between the PA and Hamas and we will not be able to treat them,” says a doctor in an eastern Jerusalem hospital.

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

Muhammad Abu Katifah, an eight-year-old boy and resident of Gaza who was injured during Operation Breaking Dawn over the weekend, arrived at Makassed Hospital in eastern Jerusalem on Wednesday to receive medical treatment. Upon arrival, the child was sent to the operating room.

His departure from Gaza was made possible after coordination with Israel. Along with Abu Katifah, other residents from the Gaza Strip arrived for medical treatment, including a four-year-old girl who needed urgent head surgery and a 62-year-old man.

Officials at the hospital told TPS that upon the arrival of the wounded from Gaza, it became clear that the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health is refusing to finance the medical treatment, because they are defined as “war wounded” and are not considered “ordinary patients.”

“We were surprised to find out that the Palestinian Authority’s budget does not support Gaza’s wounded,” said the medical staff member who contacted the PA’s Ministry of Health and requested a commitment for the expensive medical treatments.

The medical staff began the urgent treatment, but according to one of the staff members, the hospital will not be able to bear the costs of the treatments for all the residents of the Gaza Strip.

“The Palestinian Authority is trying to place responsibility on Hamas for the residents, which it has defined as ‘war-wounded,’ and this is how it has been conducting itself since the Return Marches began, initiated by Hamas, and this within the framework of the sanctions imposed by Abu Mazen [PA head Mahmoud Abbas] on Hamas,” says a doctor in the Makassed hospital.

“In the meantime, the residents of the Gaza Strip are paying the price of the conflict between the PA and Hamas and we will not be able to treat them,” he added.