Supreme Court petition could force Israel to allow in thousands of Gazans

Israel’s top court slated to hear petition that demands the government grant entry to thousands of Gazan patients and their families.

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli Supreme Court is slated to weigh in on a petition demanding that Israel grant entry to thousands of Gazans seeking treatment, along with accompanying family members, despite warnings that the move could ultimately harm Israeli security and overload Israel’s already overburdened health care system.

On Sunday, 32 Israeli doctors signed a petition to the Supreme Court demanding the immediate authorization of medical evacuations of Gazans through Israel.

The petition was jointly submitted by a number of left-wing and Arab NGOs in Israel, including Gisha, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, HaMoked, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Physicians for Human Rights.

The court is slated to hold a hearing on the petition in July.

If the Supreme Court accepts the petitioners’ demands, it could mandate that the government facilitate the transfer of thousands of Gazan patients to hospitals in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.

A court order could enable entry to as many as 16,500 Gazan patients mentioned in the petition, with tens of thousands of other Gazans allowed in as accompanying relatives.

While the petition calls on Israel to enable Gazans to be treated in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, a senior medical official warned that the influx of thousands of patients could cause a “spillover” effect into Israel’s hospitals, burdening an already overloaded system.

“I find it hard to understand the dozens of doctors who signed the request to the Supreme Court,” the official, a department chief at an Israeli hospital, told Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity.

“Israel’s health care system can barely handle the burden, and we are only at the beginning of February. Every year there are inhuman loads on Israeli hospitals. What is the point of forcing the state to add even more strain on the hospitals?”

The department chief added that the Gazan patients seeking treatment include terrorists, and their transfer could pose a security risk.