Israel coerces sick Palestinians into becoming informants

After conducting numerous interviews, Physicians for Human Rights identified 32 Palestinians who had their entry into Israel for medical treatment conditioned upon their cooperation as informants.

Sick Palestinians must seek treatment in Israel because of the precarious situation in Gaza.

Radio host Bassam Waheidi, 28, told PHR that he developed a visual problem in August 2007 and that Palestinians doctors in Gaza referred him for immediate treatment in Israel. When he attempted to cross the border, Waheidi was subjected to a long interrogation about militants who were firing rockets at Israel. Waheidi refused to provide information and was denied entry.

Several Palestinians from Gaza seeking medical treatment in Israel missed critical appointments because of extensive questioning by security agents. According to a PHR representative, coercing the sick into becoming informants amounts to “psychological and physical torture” and is a violation of human rights and international law under the Geneva Conventions. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza called the practice “blackmail” and has urged the Red Cross to intervene.

The Shin Bet, Israel’s equivalent of the FBI, is the office responsible for such actions. Shin Bet has, not surprisingly, flatly rejected all allegations. In May 2007, Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem and Hamoked published a report exposing Shin Bet’s torture of Palestinians.

Israel launched a siege of Gaza following the January 2006 Hamas victory in the legislature elections and intensified the offensive after the Hamas takeover of the densely populated strip in June 2007. The border with Egypt remains closed and movement of people and goods between Israel and Gaza is tightly restricted. Among other life-threatening problems, the blockade has led to the further deterioration of already precarious health services.

This despicable tactic is yet another Israeli violation of human rights, and continues the collective punishment of the people of Gaza for resisting the Israeli apartheid state.