Jerusalem: The WHO oPt released a report today, March 5, 2013, which details the difficulties that thousands of Palestinian patients encounter in obtaining Israeli permits to access specialized health care in East Jerusalem, Jordan and Israel. Restrictions also affect access into Jerusalem for ambulances and health personnel from the West Bank to the East Jerusalem hospitals.
The study used available data from Palestinian Authority ministries and from non-profit health providers to quantify and describe how Israeli movement restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza reduce access to health services for Palestinian patients and health providers, especially to East Jerusalem where the main Palestinian referral centers are located.
The full article continues at http://www.emro.who.int/palestine-press-releases/2013/who-launches-report-on-health-access-barriers-in-the-opt-5-march-2013.html on the website of the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.