Hospital continues health checks despite few paychecks

Hospital continues health checks despite few paychecks

Story Highlights
• Hospital staff in West Bank haven't been fully paid in a year
• U.S., EU imposed sanctions after Hamas came to power last year
• 70 percent of Palestinians now live in poverty, according to the U.N.
• Hospital director says health care shouldn't suffer due to internal politics

By Atika Shubert
CNN

NABLUS, West Bank (CNN) -- The kidney dialysis unit of the public hospital in Nablus is running at capacity: four shifts a day serving nearly 100 patients. It would be a difficult task for any hospital. More so for one that has little money to pay its staff or buy fresh medical supplies.

"If we leave and tell them that we don't have money, they will die. This team, I am proud to tell you, they didn't stop for a second," said Dr. Hussam Jawhari, the hospital's director. "We are all committed to provide services to our people, in spite of the lack of salaries."

The Nablus Hospital is just one example of how the international embargo on the Palestinian Authority is affecting Palestinians. It is a government-run hospital serving 80 percent of the 115,000 people who live in Nablus and surrounding areas. Because of international sanctions, none of the hospital staff has been paid full wages for nearly a year. (Watch a hospital's struggle to treat patientsVideo)

Last month, Jawhari was able to negotiate a solution: Higher-paid staff members like himself will receive half-pay so that more needy staff can receive 80 percent of their wages. Charity organizations are supplying the expensive medicines needed to keep critical units like kidney dialysis operating.

"I feel that all of us were punished," Jawhari said, "because it's not the fault of people what is happening and what will happen here politically. This is not the fault of the patient."

The United States and the European Union, with the backing of the United Nations, imposed economic sanctions on the Palestinian Authority last year after the militant Islamic group Hamas was voted into power.

Hamas has refused to recognize the state of Israel and has openly supported the use of violence against the Jewish state. Both the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

"We want the Palestinian people to understand that if they choose extremists, people who say no to peace, people who say no to reconciliation, people who support violence and terrorism, then there's no future there. There's international isolation," said Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry.
Palestinian economy is reeling

Sanctions have hurt Hamas. Under its control, the Palestinian Authority cannot pay its 165,000 civil servants. A rash of mass strikes have made it impossible for Hamas to govern. Armed militias on the Authority's payroll have threatened to rebel.

Hamas leaders have toured other countries in the region looking for support. Despite promises of millions of dollars from Iran and others, it has not been enough to keep the Palestinian economy afloat.

U.N. statistics paint a grim picture. Nearly 70 percent of Palestinians now live in poverty compared with about 50 percent five years ago. The worst cases of poverty are in Gaza where 78 percent of families live below the poverty line.

The United Nations has put out an urgent appeal for $450 million in aid for the Palestinian territories.

Compounding the problem has been the sharp escalation in inter-factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah -- the political faction that had dominated Palestinian politics for decades before Hamas was voted into power. However, both sides recently reached a power-sharing agreement in which Hamas will head a coalition agreement that agrees to "respect" past peace agreements with Israel.

The Israeli government has released $100 million in Palestinian tax revenues to Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to support a more moderate alternative to Hamas.

But Israel insists the embargo should not be fully lifted until Hamas is willing to compromise on three conditions set by the United Nations.

"From our perspective, it's not important who's in the government," Regev said. "It's important what is the position of that government -- recognition of Israel, renunciation of terrorism and an acceptance of the Middle East process signed agreements and the road map."

At the Nablus Hospital, Dr. Jawhari shakes his head at these political demands.

"My message is to the EU and to the government of the USA to leave the Ministry of Health separated from what's going on politically," he said.

He pointed at the empty storeroom shelves and the line of patients waiting for dialysis treatment. "We don't interfere with politics. We are just health providers. We are only insisting to continue helping our people."

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