A barricade at the Erez crossing, the only entry point for Palestinians travelling from the Gaza Strip into Israel. AFP
A barricade at the Erez crossing, the only entry point for Palestinians travelling from the Gaza Strip into Israel. AFP
A barricade at the Erez crossing, the only entry point for Palestinians travelling from the Gaza Strip into Israel. AFP
A barricade at the Erez crossing, the only entry point for Palestinians travelling from the Gaza Strip into Israel. AFP

Israel's restrictions affect Palestinian access to health care, World Bank says


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Israeli controls on the movement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank are preventing them from receiving life-saving treatment in time, a World Bank report released on Monday said.

In the document titled Racing Against Time, the World Bank referred to Israel's restrictions on movement and trade in the occupied West Bank, the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the divide between the two territories as factors jeopardising the health of Palestinians, as well as the Palestinian economy.

"The fiscal constraints weigh heavily on the Palestinian health system and particularly on its ability to cope with the mounting burden of non-communicable diseases," Stefan Emblad, the World Bank's director for the West Bank and Gaza, said in a statement released with the report.

The restrictions, including "a lengthy, bureaucratic regime of permits", often makes it hard to provide timely life-saving health care to Palestinians, he said.

Access to medical referrals for treatment of cancer, heart disease and maternal and childbirth conditions are affected significantly due to physical and administrative constraints, the statement said.

"The 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," it said.

Research figures show that the near-blockade of Gaza has had an impact on mortality, as some patients do not outlive the length of the permit process
World Bank report

"Research figures show that the near-blockade of Gaza has had an impact on mortality, as some patients do not outlive the length of the permit process."

Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip cross annually into Israel for medical treatment unavailable in the impoverished Palestinian territories.

Israel has occupied the West Bank – now home to about three million Palestinians – since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when it also seized the Gaza Strip, the densely populated coastal enclave from which it has since withdrawn.

Last year, Israel issued entry permits for more than 110,000 medical visits for West Bank residents, according to Cogat, the Israeli Defence Ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories.

More than 17,000 such permits were issued during the same period to Palestinians from Gaza, where 2.3 million people live.

A blockade imposed by Israel in 2007, after Hamas rose to power in Gaza, has also affected the delivery of medical supplies to the enclave.

The World Bank has urged Israel and Palestinian authorities to better manage such medical cases and ease the permit process in a bid to provide timely healthcare assistance to patients and their companions.

Agencies contributed to this report

SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)

Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),

Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),

Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm) 

Benevento v Napoli (6pm) 

Parma v Spezia (6pm)

 Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)

Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)

Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
MATCH INFO

Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Huddersfield Town permanent signings:

  • Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
  • Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
  • Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
  • Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
  • Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
  • Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
  • Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
  • Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
Honeymoonish
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The%20Kitchen
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)

  • Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave. 
  • Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
  • Help out around the house.
  • Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
  • Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
  • Offer to strip the bed before you go.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Updated: September 18, 2023, 12:12 PM`