Qatar stresses Palestinian people suffer tragic, serious health conditions

Geneva: The State of Qatar stressed that the fraternal Palestinian people are suffering from tragic and serious health conditions that cannot and shou...

Geneva: The State of Qatar stressed that the fraternal Palestinian people are suffering from tragic and serious health conditions that cannot and should not be ignored or tolerated, specifically highlighting the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to an unjust blockade since 2006 and to a brutal aggression, massacres, and genocide since October 7, 2023, which has led to a near-total collapse of the health system, amid unprecedented destruction and widespread devastation of health facilities. This came in a speech delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Delegation of the State of Qatar in the UN Office in Geneva Jawhara bint Abdulaziz Al Suwaidi, during the discussion session of the draft resolution entitled: "Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan," during the 78th World Health Assembly. Jawhara bint Abdulaziz Al Suwaidi indicated that the main reason behind the deterioration of the health situation is primarily due to the aggression, policies and measures practiced by the Israeli occupation authorities - represented by repeated attacks and assaults on Palestinians, the deliberate targeting of hospitals, health facilities and their staff, and food production and distribution sites, depriving them of water, medicine, electricity and fuel, imposing a starvation policy, and preventing the arrival of humanitarian and medical aid. She pointed to discriminatory restrictions on access to health services, the denial of freedom of movement, the closure of crossings, the establishment of settlements, severe restrictions on the movement of ambulances, health workers, patients, and the wounded, and the failure to provide adequate health care to Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons.

She also strongly condemned all Israeli policies that violate all international laws, including human rights law and international humanitarian law, and reflect a disregard for the lives of Palestinians, the sick, and the wounded, who are in dire need of treatment and healthcare. She emphasized the Palestinian people's right to access healthcare services that guarantee their dignity and right to life. She added that what is deeply worrying is Israel's, the occupying power, cynical treatment of resolutions issued by international organizations and UN bodies. Instead of respecting, abiding by, and implementing these resolutions, its response has been to continue its genocide of the Palestinian people and commit the most heinous crimes and violations. She urged the international community to shoulder its moral and legal responsibilities, exert greater pressure, and take all necessary measures and actions to put an end to the violations. It also called on the international community to ensure adequate funding to support the immediate and future needs of WHO health programs in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and to rebuild the Palestinian health system, in full cooperation with the WHO and relevant United Nations agencies. The Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to Geneva urged all countries to support the draft resolution entitled "Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan."