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The Separation Wall and the right to healthcare

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Abstract

Nowadays, the concepts of soldier and war have changed due to terrorism and the war on terrorism. According to the literature, to prevent terrorism, it is possible to use more violence, but how can we grant the safety of many versus the dignity of a few? In Israel, in order to protect civilians against possible terrorist attacks, Palestinian ambulances that would reach the Israeli hospitals (or the Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem) must be quickly controlled. However, many times, at the checkpoint, patients have to wait for an Israeli vehicle that will take them to Israel. This procedure causes many delays in medical emergency. How to avoid that terrorists may receive better care than Palestinian civilians may just because they are already on the Israeli side of the Separation Wall? How is it possible to ensure the life and safety of many, without denying the right to healthcare to somebody? How to decide when the State requirements conflict with traditional medical duties? Is it acceptable to provide health care to a terrorist? What should be done when it is uncertain whether the ambulance transports weapons besides patients? These questions call upon the core role of the doctor and of the medical profession: taking care of all sick persons. The care is the starting point of ethics. If we do not care about other human beings we do not have a real moral comprehension of any human ideal or action. For this reason we can say that the care is the premise of morality. The rights of all citizens, including the claim to public security, grounds on the care for each individual who needs help.

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Notes

  1. On 29 November 1947 the United Nations defined the new boundaries of the historical Palestine: the land allocated to the Arab State (West Bank and Gaza) included about 43 % while the Jewish State (Israel) was to receive 56 % of historical Palestine. “The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations”. http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/7f0af2bd897689b785256c330061d253. Accessed 3 January 2016.

  2. The Magen David Adom is Israel’s national emergency medical and ambulance service. The name means “Red Star of David”, according to the Judaism symbol. Since June 2006, MDA has been recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

  3. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), officially founded in December 1968, is a national humanitarian organization that caters to the health and welfare of the Palestinian people and others in need in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Diaspora. PRCS is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) that was founded in 1919.

  4. The aim of this document is to improve communications and collaboration between PRCS and MDA and to promote freedom of movement of Red Crescent ambulances in the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem (the main metropolitan reference area for the Palestinians and the only area where technology and tertiary services are available).

  5. According to this second unofficial negotiation, information about crew and “authorized” ambulances should be forwarded to checkpoint commanders in order to facilitate their passage.

  6. In emergencies, it may happen that the Palestinian doctor is not available, thus resulting in more and more increased delay (Weingarten 2007, pp. 27–30), waiting to get required information. Nevertheless, as reported by the Procedure for Processing a Resident of the Judea and Samaria Area Arriving at Checkpoint in an Urgent Medical Situation (Weingarten 2007, p. 26; a document drafted during the course of the Supreme Court Petition (HCJ 9109/06) in accordance also with the MoU and with the international law), the PRCS may refuse this procedure and ask that every ambulance on emergency freely reaches hospitals over the Separation Wall.

Abbreviations

MDA:

Magen David Adom

MoU:

Memorandum of Understanding

PRCS:

Palestinian Red Crescent Society

PHR-Israel:

Physician for Human Rights—Israel

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Acknowledgments

We would like to show our gratitude to Dr. Renzo Pegoraro, Dr. Luciana Caenazzo and Dr. Pamela Tozzo who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted our research, and we thank the reviewer for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnologies and Sciences of Life, Insubria University, Via O. Rossi N. 9 (Pad. Antonini), 21100, Varese, Italy

    Melania Borgo & Mario Picozzi

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  1. Melania Borgo
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  2. Mario Picozzi
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Correspondence to Melania Borgo.

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Borgo, M., Picozzi, M. The Separation Wall and the right to healthcare. Med Health Care and Philos 19, 523–529 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-016-9707-4

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