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Palestinian hospital officials on Monday decried a U.S. decision to cut funding for hospitals in the occupied East Jerusalem, warning the move will have “catastrophic” consequences on the health sector.
The decision will have “a major negative impact on the clash flows to these hospitals and will lead to delays in the provision of vital medical services,” Basem Abu-Lebda, head of Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, told a press conference held at Augusta Victoria hospital in the city.
“In a nutshell, this decision will negatively impact the lives of five million Palestinians,” he said.
The U.S. administration has decided to cut nearly $25 million in aid to hospitals in Israel-occupied city that mainly serve Palestinian patients.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said Monday that the U.S. administration was planning to close the PLO's office -- which doubles as the Palestinian embassy -- in Washington.“We have been officially informed that the U.S. administration plans to close our embassy in Washington as a means of punishing us for continuing to work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli war crimes,” Erekat said in a statement carried by Palestine’s WAFA news agency.Erekat described the move as “an escalation that will have serious political consequences by sabotaging the entire international system in order to protect the Israeli occupation and its crimes”.“This is another blow by the [U.S. President Donald] Trump administration against peace and justice,” he said.The Trump administration, Erekat added, “cannot extort the will of the Palestinian people who will continue to pursue their rights through all legal and political channels, especially at the ICC”.He went on to urge ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to open “an urgent criminal investigation into the crimes of the Israeli occupation”.The Palestinian leadership, Ereket said, “will take measures to help Palestinians living in the U.S. and guarantee their access to consular services” in light of U.S. plans to close the PLO’s office -- plans the Wall Street Journal appeared to confirm Monday.Last November, the Trump administration threatened to close the PLO’s Washington office after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- in a speech before the UN General Assembly -- called for investigations into alleged crimes by Israel.The U.S. State Department later announced, however, that it would allow the organization's offices to remain open for an additional 90 days.
US to close PLO’s Washington office: Saeb Erekat
The cut could cause harm to at least five hospitals in East Jerusalem, including Augusta Victoria hospital and the St. John Eye Hospital, which is the main provider of eye treatments for Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Abu-Lebda appealed to the Palestinian Authority, the U.S. Congress and the international community to take responsibility and spare no efforts to deal with the consequences caused by the U.S. aid cut.
Notably East Jerusalem hospitals provide medical services to Palestinians not only in East Jerusalem but also those in the West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Last week, Washington ended all of its funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.
Palestinian authorities will not be deterred from seeking International Criminal Court action against Israel, an official said on Monday, despite the Trump administration's plan to shut their de facto embassy in Washington in response.Senior official Saeb Erekat said his office had been informed that the United States would close the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) mission, a move he described as designed "to protect Israeli crimes"."We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying," Erekat said in a statement. "Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes." Israel warplane strikes NE GazaGazan youth dies of injuries sustained near buffer zone'Turkey cares about Palestine's economy'
Palestinians say undeterred by US move to 'protect Israeli crimes'
The U.S. was -- by far -- UNRWA's largest contributor, providing it with $350 million annually -- roughly one quarter of the agency's overall budget.
Palestinians have rejected any U.S. mediation since U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.