Did You Know That.....

Did you know that throughout 2016, over 30,000 people from the Gaza Strip received medical treatment in Israel? Or that over 7,000 tons of medical supplies were transferred to hospitals and clinics in the Gaza Strip? And what about the emergency ambulances that are on-call 24 hours, 7 days a week at Erez Crossing? These are just a few of the many activities of the Health Coordinator Department at the Gaza CLA (Coordination and Liason Activities).

In accordance with Oslo Accord's initiated in the 1990’s, responsibility for healthcare lies with the Palestinian Authority. However, the healthcare system inside the Gaza Strip is very limited and overburdened as a result of Hamas control. As a result, the Health Coordinator at the Gaza CLA is a critical partner for assisting Gazan patients to get treatment inside Israel, Judea and Samaria or elsewhere.  In order to ensure treatment for these patients, the Health Coordination Department works with the Israeli Ministry of Health and representatives of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, as well as collaborating with hospitals in Israel and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, this department facilitates health professionals from Gaza to attend industry conferences and seminars. This educational participation is designed to keep them current on up-and-coming medical advancements in order to contribute to the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. In 2016, 275 medical professionals from Gaza received visas to participate in medical workshops and seminars in Israel.

It is unfortunate that Hamas target those civilians most in need, but they do. There has been a rise in fraudulent applications for medical permits as part of Hamas's ongoing efforts to harm the security of the State of Israel. Consequently, in order to ensure that medical permits are given to civilians with real medical needs, the Health Office works with the different security agencies to verify the legitimacy of every request.