RAMALLAH, Thursday, July 11, 2019 (WAFA) – Minister of Health, Mai Alkaila, said today that 40 percent of applications for exit permits by patients from the Gaza Strip, for treatment in the West Bank or Jerusalem during the past two years, were rejected by Israeli occupation authorities.

During a workshop in Ramallah, in the central West Bank, Alkaila added that the occupation authorities used to prevent parents of sick children from accompanying them during their treatment outside Gaza, creating a physical and psychological burden on the patients and their families.

She said the practices and policies of the Israeli occupation authorities have worsened the already deteriorated humanitarian situation for patients, especially children, women and the elderly.

She concluded, "The siege imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities on the Gaza Strip for more than ten years has caused a catastrophic economic, health and environmental situation; caused great harm to the health system; and prevented the issuance of permits for patients outside the Gaza Strip."

M.N