Israel has informed its Supreme Court that it will not permit the evacuation of critically ill patients from the Gaza Strip to hospitals in the occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem, citing what it described as security concerns, according to the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz.
The government’s position was submitted on Monday in response to petitions filed by Israeli human rights organisations seeking to compel authorities to allow patients in Gaza to access medical care in West Bank and Jerusalem hospitals.
According to Haaretz, the government told the court that it “insists on refusing” to approve the transfer of severely ill Gaza residents for treatment in those areas, arguing that their movement could pose security risks, including the alleged transfer of information and the “export of terrorist infrastructure”.
Instead, despite maintaining a blockade on Gaza, Israeli authorities suggested that patients should travel to a third country to receive treatment.
The government claimed that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have already been transferred for medical treatment abroad in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Jordan, Turkey, France, Italy, Belgium, Egypt, Luxembourg, Malta and Norway.
Human rights activists have warned that the policy effectively denies life-saving care to many patients in Gaza, where the health sector has been devastated and faces severe shortages of medicine, equipment and specialised services.