WHO worries about West Bank violence, impact on healthcare

By Olivia Le Poidevin

The World Health Organization is deeply concerned about violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the impact of what it called "starkly rising" attacks on healthcare, its representative in the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday.

Israel sent tanks into the West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday and ordered the military to prepare for an extended stay to fight Palestinian militant groups in the area's refugee camps.

"We are deeply concerned about the situation in the West Bank and the impact on health", Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the West Bank and Gaza, told reporters via video link from the Gaza Strip.

"We see the current flashpoints of violence, attacks on healthcare ... starkly rising in the West Bank."

In a statement the Israeli military said: "Terror organizations, and Hamas in particular, use hospitals and ambulances as tools for terrorist activities."

It added that it takes action to prevent harm of medical workers and that military operations are essential to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens.

The WHO says there have been 44 attacks this year that affected the provision of healthcare in the West Bank. It said four healthcare facilities were affected.

Four patients died waiting for an ambulance and eight health workers were injured while attempting to reach patients, it said.

It also said 25 healthcare workers and patients had been killed and 121 injured in the West Bank from October 7, 2023 - the date of the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel that started the Gaza war - to February 14 this year.

The WHO also reported severe movement restrictions across the West Bank, including obstacles affecting the movement of ambulances and access for healthcare workers.

The WHO has provided emergency supplies and trauma kits to some West Bank hospitals, Peeperkorn said.

At least 40,000 Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank since Israel began its operation last month after reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza after 15 months of war.

Eighty-two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between January 1 and February 13, according to the latest WHO figures.