July 9, 2009
The Alternative Information Centre
7 July 2009
On Saturday night (5 July), Israeli police prohibited state-run Magan David Adom (MDA) ambulances from entering the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, in order to assist critically wounded residents. The call for help came after a neighborhood dispute turned violent—the result was one dead and five wounded.
Reports state that when MDA ambulances arrived to the neighborhood they were forbidden entry by the police, and were made to wait on the outer edge of the neighborhood. Some two hours later, Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances were able to enter the neighborhood in order to rescue the wounded, according to the Ma’an News Agency.
Further it was reported by The Jerusalem Post that, as a matter of policy, MDA ambulance service has said they will not enter Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem without a police authorization and escort. The justification for this policy was said to be based on past stoning attacks on ambulances, though MDA did not specify when the last such incident occurred.
This contravenes the Israeli Patients’ Rights Act, Chapters 3(b) and 4, which states that in a medical emergency, a person is entitled to receive emergency care unconditionally, as well as that discrimination for medical attention on grounds of religion, race, sex, nationality, or country of birth are prohibited. Additionally, Article 12.2(d) of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was ratified by Israel in 1991, affirms that a state should create conditions which would assure medical attention in the event of sickness to all of its residents.
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