Israeli attacks and financial restrictions push West Bank healthcare toward collapse

HEBRON, Palestine (MNTV) — Healthcare facilities across the occupied West Bank are being pushed deeper into crisis by Israel’s attacks on medical services, severe financial shortages and restrictions that Palestinian hospital officials say have made it increasingly difficult to provide essential care.

The World Health Organization recorded 98 incidents where Israel attacked healthcare workers, facilities and services in the West Bank between January and the end of July, with most involving medical transport. 

The number rose sharply in July, when 37 incidents were recorded compared with a monthly average of about 10 during the earlier months of the year.

The WHO data also recorded 25 cases this year involving the arrest of healthcare workers or patients. Other incidents included Israel’s inhumane use of force and searches of medical personnel, medical facilities and ambulances.

The attacks and disruptions are taking place as hospitals struggle with a financial crisis that has lasted for years. 

Public and private healthcare providers have reportedly been unable to pay employees their full salaries for nearly three years as the Palestinian Authority faces declining revenues and growing debts.

Dr. Hazem Shalaldeh, director general of Al-Mizan Specialized Hospital in Hebron, described the situation as extremely difficult, saying the Palestinian health sector has endured years of severe pressure following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Mizan, which employs about 400 people, has been unable to pay its staff their full salaries for approximately three years. 

Shalaldeh said only partial payments have been possible, while irregular salary payments at public hospitals have further disrupted healthcare services and placed additional pressure on medical workers and patients.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel warned this month that the Palestinian public healthcare system was approaching collapse. 

The organization said Israel’s withholding of clearance revenues — taxes and customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority — has forced hundreds of Health Ministry service branches to sharply reduce operations.

According to the organization, 447 of the Health Ministry’s 590 service branches have significantly curtailed their activities, with many operating only one or two days a week.

Shalaldeh said the withholding of clearance revenues had become a source of financial pressure on the Palestinian health system. Rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israel of using the revenues as political leverage.

The International Crisis Group reported that Israel had withheld at least $2.5 billion from the Palestinian Authority cumulatively since 2023 by June this year. The deductions have further reduced the funds available for public services, including healthcare.

The economic damage has also affected hospitals through the loss of Palestinian employment opportunities inside Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023. 

Shalaldeh said the decline in privately paying patients had reduced another important source of hospital income.

He also said some Palestinian medical professionals who had returned from jobs abroad during the early stages of the war later left again after receiving better opportunities elsewhere, contributing to shortages and affecting the quality of healthcare available to Palestinians.

The West Bank healthcare system consists of public hospitals, nonprofit institutions operated by charitable organizations and private hospitals. 

According to Shalaldeh, private and charitable facilities provide about 60 percent of the territory’s hospital beds, while public hospitals account for the remaining 40 percent.

Specialized medical services are particularly concentrated in private and charitable facilities, while the public sector provides much of the territory’s primary healthcare.

Shalaldeh said financial problems began emerging on a smaller scale during the COVID-19 pandemic but worsened dramatically following the outbreak of war in Gaza. 

Rising debts have left hospitals unable to settle payments owed to suppliers of medicines, medical equipment and other essential supplies.

Hospitals are consequently facing a damaging cycle in which reduced government payments prevent them from covering operating costs, while unpaid obligations to suppliers make it increasingly difficult to maintain medical services.

The World Bank has reported that monthly deductions from Palestinian clearance revenues increased from about $66 million after October 2023 to approximately $165 million, cutting the amount transferred to the Palestinian Authority by more than half.

At the same time, Israeli military operations and settler attacks have intensified across the occupied Palestinian territory. 

Medical Aid for Palestinians said settler violence reached its highest level since the organization began monitoring it in 2006, averaging six incidents each day.

The organization also reported at least 987 attacks affecting healthcare facilities and services in the West Bank since October 2023.

The combined impact of attacks on healthcare, restrictions, financial pressure and shortages is leaving Palestinian medical providers struggling to sustain basic services, while hospital officials warn that the system is being pushed toward an increasingly severe and potentially irreversible crisis.