from Israel

["jonatan Peled" <peled_j@maabarot.org.il>]

From Physicians for Human Rights-Israel



12.3 at night:

We were told that the situation worsened because Red Cross vehicles which
were accompanying Red Crescent ambulances were fired on this evening and
they have ceased accompaniment. This means that all medical services in
Ramallah are totally cut off at this point. Doctors and patients can not
get to the hospitals. PHR is currently trying to help a pregnant woman in
El-Bireh get to a hospital, there are people who are wounded. Please,
contact whoever you can. See also contact information in the end of this
message.]



The ëUnion of Palestinian Medical Relief Committeesí and ëPhysicians for
Human Rights - Israelí jointly appeal for an end to the humanitarian
nightmare in the Palestinian territories.
Ramallah is now under complete occupation, 120 tanks are present on the
streets, and both helicopters and tanks are bombarding different
neighborhoods with missiles. Two hospitals, the Ramallah Hospital and
Ramallah Maternity Hospital, have been fired upon by Israeli troops. Also,
as in many places in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, soldiers have this
morning fired upon two ambulances in Ramallah.

Additionally the Israeli army is preventing access to medical care for the
sick and wounded, by forbidding their movement to hospital, and also by
refusing medical teams access to them for treatment at the scene. Clearly,
preventing access to the wounded will lead to more deaths; preventing sick
people from receiving treatment will also contribute to more deaths.


We urgently demand action from the world - international and humanitarian
organizations must immediately force the Israeli government to halt this
atrocity. We call upon you to demonstrate, to call governmental
representatives, to take any action that will allow Palestinian wounded and
ill to receive medical treatment ñ preventing more unnecessary deaths. We
also plead for foreign governments to act to bring an immediate halt to
this aggression by the Israeli army, and an end to this humanitarian crisis.

On Thursday March 14, 2002, at 9am

a High Court hearing will be held on the subject of recent attacks by the
IDF on ambulances and rescue teams in the Occupied Territories, and on
prevention of evacuation.

PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS-ISRAEL
calls upon all people to come to the High Court tomorrow.


LATEST UPDATES:

The Governmental hospital in Ramallah is completely cut off from all supplies:
they say they will run out of oxygen within 7 hours if Israel does not
permit entry of oxygen supplies into Ramallah. Israel has refused both our
appeals and the appeals of the International Red Cross and the Palestine
Red Crescent Society.

30 people injured in Ramallah in the last hour were taken by friends on
foot to hospital. Ambulances are officially forbidden passage by IDF. Red
Crescent and Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) have
taken a decision to send out ambulances without coordination with the Red
Cross or the IDF, at their peril, despite the prohibition, since injured
are lying in the streets.





The first time in my life I'm ashamed of my people. Our leadership made my
beloved country a monster !



Jonatan Peled,

Kibbutz Maabarot,

Israel