Dear Sir
Your series regarding Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory raises many important points. Implied as the basis for the entire series is the premise laid out clearly in the editorial, “Keys to health: justice, sovereignty and self determination” in this week’s journal, as: “Israel’s siege, bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, and a strangulated Palestinian economy, gross restrictions on ordinary movement and a pervasive environment of intimidation, uncertainty and insecurity”.
The implications are obvious, in this series, authored by experts expressing no conflict of interest! The stated blame for all the health inequalities of the Palestinian population falls squarely on the State of Israel. This cannot go unanswered. Without wanting to go into a detailed analysis of the Israel/Palestinian conflict, no mention is made of similar health inequalities on the Israeli side.
Israel has been in a state of war with its Arab neighbours since its independence was declared on 14th May 1948. This is despite the very clear stated intentions of each Israeli government that if it could reach peaceful compromises with its neighbours to ensure security, it would be willing to trade land for peace, as was evident with the peace accords with Egypt and Jordan, and the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip…
Failure to ensure justice, sovereignty and self-determination for the Palestinian people does not rest solely with Israel. In reality, the refugee camps, including those in Jordan and Lebanon, were thought of initially as temporary dwellings that would not be necessary once the Zionist enemy was overrun in future conflicts. In addition, there was fear that weak Arab regimes would be destabilised by large numbers of refugees needing integration from these camps. The Palestinian leadership has ruthlessly exploited the plight of these displaced persons to create a victim culture, and gain political capital throughout the world, essentially ignoring the fact that these displaced persons have been abandoned by both their own leadership and those of their cousins.
It is obvious that the only way to improve the health status of the Palestinian population is through a political process. However, one cannot expect a sovereign state to negotiate for peace and land rights with a regime that does not recognise its right to exist. Compromise must come from both sides in any conflict, but to achieve this there must be mutual respect, understanding and trust. The stated aim of the Palestinian leadership in Gaza is the destruction of the state of Israel.
The continuing conflict in Israel has major health consequences on its population also, with high levels of psychiatric illness, poverty and insecurity. Recognition of the health inequalities on both sides, and cessation of the repeated attempts to de-legitimise the State of Israel could lead to improvement of the health for the whole of the Middle East.
I do not have any conflict of interest to declare (but I am Jewish).
Simon Nadel
Dr Simon Nadel, FRCP
St Mary’s Hospital. UNITED KINGDOM
