Israel’s restrictions and growing financial constraints in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are severely impacting the economic conditions of Palestinians and hindering their access to timely life-saving healthcare the World Bank warned in a recent report.
In a report titled &ldquoRacing Against Time&rdquo the World Bank said that the Palestinian economy performs below its potential with per capita income expected to stagnate.
Poverty in the West Bank and Gaza is on the rise with one out of four Palestinians living below the poverty line the Washington-based global lender said.
Israel’s restrictions on movement and trade in the occupied West Bank the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the division between the two Palestinian territories were among several factors that have put the Palestinian economy at high risk the report said.
&ldquoThe fiscal constraints weigh heavily on the Palestinian health system and particularly on its ability to cope with the mounting burden of non-communicable diseases&rdquo Stefan Emblad the World Bank’s director for the West Bank and Gaza said in a statement released with the report.
The restrictions including &ldquoa lengthy bureaucratic regime of permits&rdquo often make it hard to provide timely life-saving health care to Palestinians he said.
Access to outside medical referrals for treatment of cancers heart problems and maternal and childbirth conditions is significantly affected due to physical and administrative constraints the statement said.
&ldquoThe situation is particularly critical in Gaza which suffers from a more limited health system capacity and where patients struggle to get needed medical exit permit applications on a timely basis&rdquo the World Bank said.
The Israeli blockade has also obstructed medical supplies to Gaza it added.
The World Bank urged Israel to better manage such medical cases and ease the permit process to provide timely health care assistance to patients and their companions.
