Ahead of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (April 17th) - and in light of the prolonged hunger strike currently waged by Palestinian Prisoner Samer ‘Issawi, as well as recent reports detailing the deaths of several Palestinian security prisoners - PHR-Israel releases an extensive report exposing a long list of medical ethics and human rights violations carried out by the IPS, specifically by prison medical practitioners, that endangered the lives of prisoners and detainees on hunger strike.

بمناسبة حلول يوم الاسير الفلسطيني في 17 نيسان المقبل، ووقوفا عند الاضراب المطول والمتواصل عن الطعام للاسير سامر عيساوي وعدد آخر من الاسرى، وفي اعقاب استشهاد الاسير ميسرة ابو حمدية والاسير عرفات جردات، تنشر اليوم منظمة اطباء لحقوق الانسان تقرير شامل يكشف عن الفشل الاخلاقي والمهني الطبي لمصلحة السجون الاسرائيلية وجهاز الطبي التابع لها بشكل خاص وتعريضه حياة الاسرى للخطر وخضوعه المطلق لاعتبارات ادارية امنية وغير طبية مهنية او اخلاقية.

PHR Israel is concerned that Ayman’s arrest and persecution is part of an attempt to punish and curtail the work human rights defenders, thus criminalizing their work. During the past year PHR-Israel and Addameer jointly worked on behalf of the rights and demands of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and against arbitrary and administrative detentions. We view Ayman’s arrest as aiming to make such activities impossible.

As the hunger strikers reach critical condition two important announcements were made, calling Israel for a life saving resolution.

 he is being held shackled to the bed by his legs, despite the loss of all sensation on the bottoms of his feet and cyanosis of the toes. In addition, Safadi has been refusing water since yesterday.

PHR Israel's volunteer doctor visiting them today, had determined that the all hunger strikers must be immediately transferred to a public hospital for comprehensive medical query of their severe conditions. Imminent life danger hovering over the three hunger-striker detainees - Sammer Al-Bark on his 112 day, Hassan Safadi on his 82 day and Ayman Sharawni on his 72 days.

Despite their severe medical conditions, both Samer and Hassan are still denied family visits and access to independent physicians and independent medical care. Addameer, Al-Haq and PHR-IL are outraged by the IPS’ practice of approving visits by independent doctors only after court orders are issued, and by the Israeli District Court of Petah Tikva’s unwillingness to order the IPS to allow frequent and consistent visits by independent doctors to hunger strikers.

As a result of this cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, Mr. Safadi subsequently announced that he would no longer be drinking water, which had so far been his only sustenance throughout his hunger strike. To protest the IPS’s brutality, the other prisoners in Ramleh also began to return their meals.

PHR-IL, Addameer and Al-Haq are outraged by the mistreatment and violent attacks on Palestinian prisoners in general, and especially in the cases of these fragile hunger strikers. PHR-IL, Addameer and Al-Haq urge the international community to intervene with Israel on behalf of these detainees before their conditions deteriorate even further and demand:

Ramallah-Jaffa, 30 July 2012

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-IL), Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and Al-Haq  are gravely concerned for the life and health of the three remaining Palestinian hunger strikers held by Israel.

Mahmoud Sarsak being freed today after Israel held him illegally for 3 years + 92 day hunger strike shows international solidarity works.

Sarsak arrive to Gaza 30 min. ago & was admitted at Shefa hospital for necessary follow up for his health condition.

Following the visit to Akram, the PHR-IL doctor reported the alarming deterioration of Akram’s asthma, which continues to be unstable. The doctor believes Akram has been given very high doses of steroids as treatment, which can cause severe long-term and irreversible damage. The doctor reiterated recommendation for immediate examination by a lung specialist, which was not performed as recommended after the last visit by an independent doctor on 6 June.

On 14 and 15 May, an agreement was concluded between hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and detainees and the Israeli Prison Service (IPS). Its provisions included the release of hunger-striking administrative detainees whose lives were in danger at the end of their current terms; ending the use of long-term solitary confinement for “security” reasons for 19 prisoners; renewal of family visits from the Gaza Strip and alleviating restrictions for families from the West Bank; ending punitive measures such as night raids and restrictions on access to legal counsel and education; improvement of conditions of incarceration including medical care; and limiting the use of administrative detention as a whole.

في قمة موجة الاحتجاج على اللاجئين:

PHR-Israel's independent doctor strongly recommended that both Mahmoud and Akram be immediately transferred to a hospital, as they are at immediate risk of death. These recommendations were given directly to the IPS doctor present with him during the visit. It should be emphasized that contrary to medical ethic and professional standards, the IPS refused the request of the independent doctor to go over the full medical files of both Mahmoud and Akram. He stated that according to the limited information accessible to him, the medical follow-up they have been receiving is insufficient both in frequency and scope.

“The infiltrators are a cancer in our body.” In one easy wave of hand Knesset Member Miri Regev tried to intimidate her listeners. I, who meet cancer patients on a daily basis, was horrified.

May 5 2012 | Press Release : Day 69 of administrative detainee Bilal Diab's hunger strikes. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel: Diab refuses medical tests. He requires an immediate visit by an independent doctor by his family

On a radio broadcast on NPR, PHR-I is raising it's deep concern regarding Israel's plan to build the biggest detention center for asylum seekers in the world.

Rahat resident allegedly secured ransom payments for gang that abducted Eritrean and Sudanese refugees; Israel Police says 'well-oiled' system of kidnappers working in concert with Hebron money changers.

The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expresses its deep concern about the horrific situation of African asylum seekers who are being held hostage in the Sinai and calls for an immediate end to human trafficking.

Notwithstanding the Israeli Military Court decision on 4 March to shorten her administrative detention order from six months to four months, Hana Shalabi expressed her undeterred intention to continue her hunger strike, now on its 20th day, in protest of the torture, assault and degrading treatment to which she has been subjected and of her ongoing detention without charge or trial.

 night, 27 February 2012, Khader Adnan went through surgery at Ziv Hospital, due to problems in his digestive system. PHR-Israel's volunteer doctor reached the hospital immediately to speak to Mr. Adnan and his doctors before the operation. He reported to us today that the operation went well and that Mr. Adnan's condition is currently stable. Mr. Adnan is now in the surgical wing of the hospital.

After being visited this afternoon by PHR Israel affiliated physician (the one who has been treating Adnan over the last few weeks) we can confirm that after 66 days of hunger strike, and following an agreement reached earlier today which secures his release from administrative detention on April 17th, Khader Adnan has ended his hunger strike a short while ago. Adnan is expected to go through a long and complicated recovery process. Physicians for Human Rights Israel will issue updates regarding  his recovery.

A joint statement of Addameer and PHR-Israel, following the Israeli High Court of Justice anouncement that the hearing in the case of Khader Adnan will take place on 23 February 2012.

. Since 2003 thousands of couples have not been able to rectify the situation of their Palestinian spouses. Even those who have managed to receive temporary residence documents - allowing them to reside within Israel- are prevented from working, studying in public schools, opening bankaccountsor driving. They also do not have the right to public health insurance.

Important article on Sinai torture camps, including an interview with a patient of our Open Clinic, a victim of the torture in the Sinai desert.

Shahar Shoham (PHR-I) tell about the victims of torture from Sinai that we meet in our Open Clinic.

Statement by Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, on Palestinian prisoners

On January 11th the Israeli parliament passed an amendment to the so- called Infiltrators Law. This revision allows the authorities to automatically imprison asylum seekers for three years. The plan includes constructing a 10,000 person jail to house the refugees. According to Amnesty International, this puts Israel at the top of the Western World for length of imprisonment of refugees. Today Israel is home to nearly 50,000 asylum seekers from Africa, 85% of whom are from Eritrea and Sudan. The Real News' Lia Tarachansky spoke to Nic Schlagman and Johannes Bayu of the African Refugee Development Center, Ran Cohen of Physicians for Human Rights, and "Ibrahim", an Eritrean asylum seeker in Israel for ten years.

Thousands of poor migrants from across Africa are being kidnapped by Bedouin gangs.

Lawmakers objecting to the bill say it is undemocratic, and runs contrary to Israel's international obligations to human rights.

Health and Health Services in the Negev: Position paper presented to the TheMarker 2012 conference, to the sit on Accessibility and upgrading of public services and infrastructure in the Negev, December 08, 2011

Happy Holidays from the Staff and Board of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

 With thanks for your help in raising health equity as a key issue in 2011, and for contributing to a transformed atmosphere for the work that PHR-Israel is doing and will continue to do in 2012, and beyond.

Rape and torture stories: African victims of human trafficking

By Alessandra Coppola

JNews: "The new version follows the freezing of the voting process on a previous version by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last week, due to public criticism of the bill by the international community including the US, EU and UK."

Torture constitutes the worst imaginable human rights abuse. It is a crushing blow to the body and spirit and destroys the trust between human beings. From its establishment, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has taken a significant part in the struggle against torture in Israel (see past position papers and reports) and has set the struggle against doctors’ involvement in torture as a main goal, grounded in the belief that the chances for abolishing torture from the world would be higher if doctors were not used to mask this practice.

The new position paper of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Adalah and Al-Mezan addresses the extreme vulnerability of Palestinian children to specific conditions and practices of detention, and the illegitimate and cruel interrogation methods to which they are subjected, and which result in extortion and false confessions.  

The position paper is based on an expert psychiatric opinion that describes the mental and developmental factors that lead children to make false confessions during interrogations, and the implications of these confessions. The expert opinion was written by Dr. Graciela Carmon who specializes in child and youth psychiatry and member of PHR-Israel’s board of directors.

The aim of this study was to gain a broader and deeper understanding of how the arrest and detention of children is affecting life in Silwan, and how this is being addressed.

"The groups most vulnerable to these methods of interrogation, which have a high likelihood of providing a false confession under coercion, are children and adolescents, drug addicts and/or alcoholics, and people with mental illness or mental retardation." Psychiatric Expert OpinionBy Graciela Carmon, M.D.Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and PHR-Israel Board Member.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has submitted input to the European Union for its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) annual country progress report on Israel for 2011. The input outlines health rights issues within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as recent challenges to freedom of assembly, association and expression in Israel.

Since the founding of the State of Israel, the Arab-Palestinian minority in the country has suffered systematic discrimination as compared to Israel's Jewish citizens in allocation of public funding and in access to services and conditions that are preconditions for a healthy life. This document outlines some basic disparities in allocation of specific resources relevant to health, and the resultant inequalities in basic health indicators, with special focus on the Bedouin-Arab community in the Negev desert in southern Israel, which has the lowest health indicators in the country. Factors such as poverty; discriminatory budget allocation; access to education, employment and safe housing; and access to basic services including clean water, sanitation and electricity, are known to be health-defining factors. Their restriction ultimately results in significant health inequality between Jews and Arabs.

New York Times: committee of Israeli cabinet ministers voted Sunday to back two bills aimed at curtailing the support of left-wing nonprofit groups from foreign governments. full article

Sunday, November 13^th, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation will vote on two bills that are intended to curtail the work of Israeli civil society organizations by severely restricting their foreign state entity funding. 18 civil society organization protest these bills.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel welcomes the new and rigorous regulations adopted by the army, limiting the use of soldiers in medical experiments. Nonetheless, the organization saw fit to add: “It is unfortunate that the Knesset does not acknowledge this issue just as seriously as the army by promoting legislation, or by establishing the protection of soldiers as avulnerable population in the law statute.”

The undersigned human-rights organizations express their concern at the deterioration of the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and are of the opinion that their demands are justified. Their right to autonomy of body and life should not be denied as a result of imprisonment; a prison sentence cannot serve as an excuse for denial of basic rights. (photo: Miki Kratzman)

Samer Allawi, Al-Jazeera’s Afghanistan Bureau Chief, is the 5th Palestinian journalist to be arrested by Israel.  On 1 September 2011, PHR-I, Adalah & Al Mezan filed a prisoners' appeal demanding that the IPS the ISA (shabak) allow an independent physician from PHR-Israel, to immediately visit him. (photo: Herald Sun)

PHR – Israel has set up a first-aid tent on Rothschild taking part in the struggle for social justice. While its volunteers are able to provide first-aid to those around the tent city who may need them, they are no less members of the protests, and bring in PHR-Israel's special emphasis on equality in health.

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, Adalah, and the Coalition of Women for Peace pointed to the "absurd result" that "a boycott call by the residents of East Jerusalem against the settlements" would give settlers the right "to demand compensation from victims of the occupation."

A new Israeli law passed on Monday prohibits boycott of businesses, universities, and social and cultural institutions based in Israel and the illegal settlements, and imposes heavy financial sanctions against civil society organisations and businesses that participate in boycotts.

The Public Network for the Advancement of Health Equity in Israel Demands National Plan for Closing Health Gaps

 Due to police intervention, world refugee day has been moved to Tel Aviv Levinski park. See you there today, 24.6.11  at 12:00.

The Tel Aviv Police Department has decided not to grant us the appropriate permits for tomorrow's event honoring World Refugee Day. Therefore we have been forced to cancel the event scheduled to take place at the Old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. We are working on finding an alternative location. Please check our facebook page for further updates

Gali Liron, a physiotherapist, volunteering in the Open Clinic: "Inside the small room, bare of equipment, I listen to these people’s personal stories. People who... went through a long, traumatizing, violent journey, ...I understand: I need now ...to listen, be empathic, and continue offering touch."

"In a course on community social work devoted to the promotion of solutions for social problems, I was part of a group which chose to seek solutions for the healthcare problems of asylum seekers." The students decided on a protest action, spreading postcards calling government to implement National Health Insurance on asylum seekers. Avia, a student of social work recalls her experience.

Yaniv Fenig, a student of medicine and volunteer of Open Clinic: "Because of the limited resources, most patients ...do not get full medical treatment in accordance with western standards. This fact is especially frustrating since in many cases, the possibility to affect their prognosis, ...is substantial."

 Michal who organized translator course and Genet who participated speak about its significance: "Many of the people sitting in the room with Genet struggled to communicate with the volunteers... When these patients discovered that Genet was able to communicate so effectively with the Clinic staff and volunteers, they turned to her for help."

Despite the wide exposure in the media, the Open Clinic continues receiving information and testimonies indicating that the torture camps are still operating. Given these findings, the silence and inaction of the Ministries of Welfare and Health is more than striking.

From the Diary of a Doctor, Dr. Rafik Masalha in a Visit to the Gaza Strip (Feb. 2011): "At the Erez Checkpoint, as I was standing in front of the concrete walls and the enormous iron doors ...I felt - as a neurologist and a member of PHR Israel - that I can break the walls of the blockade with my humble reflex hammer."

Dr. Abdul Shaif on Palestinian hospitals in Jerusaelm "At the advent of my career in Jerusalem, I met a scholar, who was interested in the city’s history. He stated that most Palestinian cities and communities had either economic or military significance, however, Jerusalem had neither! ...I mention this to stress the dependence of Jerusalem on the rest of the country for its viability, in all aspects of life, the health industry being no exception!"

An Interview with Dr. Skafi of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS): "We emphasize as well that Israel does not fulfill its responsibility towards the people of the Occupied Territories, but rather this is done by international, Palestinian and Israeli organizations and peace movements – they are the ones that help. But we shall not forget, it is the occupier’s responsibility..."

An Interview with Dr. Ruchama Marton, PHR Israel's founder and president: "I am for being active, for recognizing what is wrong and acting against it. It is necessary to have a vision. Without an image of a better world, we cannot recognize the injustice, a necessary condition for the struggle."

1088 hearing aids distributed to patients in the West Bank

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. The theme for 2011 is ‘Closing the gap: increasing access and equity’.

Although researches indicate that a rise of 10% in the number of certified nurses with a first degree reduced the risk of a patient to die during the 30 first days following a surgery, the profession still suffers from chronic shortage in human power. The shortage in more acute in the periphery.

On International Nurses day, here is a short description on this issue as it relates to inmates. Unfortunately, the Israeli Prison Service almost does not hire nurses, and their role is given to paramedics. This affects the level of medical care given to inmates, mainly because the training of a paramedic fall short in comparison to that of a nurse, and cannot be considered as an adequate replacement.

Once a fortnight, for a number of hours, I feel as if I am entering another world. In the clinic I meet beautiful people, who all are doing this holy work, pro bono.

Today, May 12^th, is the international nurses day, that celebrates the significant role nurses play in every patient's lives. We the members, staff and board of PHR Israel wish to convey our deep appreciation to all nurses working in Israel for the benefit of the patients as well as for social change.