Restrictions and violence block Palestinians in West Bank from medical care

“There are no clinics operating within the closed area [H2] currently, and even if there were, residents live in fear of losing their lives for medicine,” said an MSF staff member and resident of H2, speaking in November 2023 after Israeli forces blocked access to all Ministry of Health staff in the area forcing them to close their doors to patients. “You can’t get sick here, it’s not allowed.”

“In the months directly following the attacks of 7 October, movement restrictions and violence in the H2 area of Hebron city were so intense that patients resorted to climbing over fences and rooftops, at the risk of their lives, just to access healthcare,” says van Dongen.

The continuous threat of violence places a severe strain on people’s mental health, say MSF staff.

“When the soldiers come at night for home incursions, my children and wife hide behind me for protection, but I cannot protect them,” says a Palestinian patient in Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills. “They have the power; they can do whatever they want.”