PA: Salaries for terrorists more important than cancer treatment for 7-year-old
PA stops cancer treatment in Israeli hospital for 7-year-old Palestinian boy
The PA has decided to stop paying for the successful cancer treatment of a 7-year-old Palestinian child Majed Muhammad Majed Ah-Sha'er in Israeli Ichilov Hospital, in order to keep paying salaries for terrorists. The decision was made despite the fact that Ichilov is the first hospital outside the United States using a new cancer treatment "that holds promise for lymphoma and leukemia patients."
According to the boy’s father Majed Muhammad was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2015, and was sent for treatment in Israel:
"He has been transferred to hospitals in the occupied interior (i.e., Israel) since the outbreak of the disease. He added that he has received full treatment and that the response [to the treatment] has been good. He also said that the doctors have emphasized that check-ups need to be made every six months in order to complete the treatment and necessary medical tests."
Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, May 28, 2019
Majed's father explained that the new request for approval of his son's next trip was submitted "to the relevant bodies in Ramallah, but his referral to Ichilov Hospital was not approved and the doctors have said that he is expected to be referred to a different hospital in the occupied West Bank."
He added, "The reason that the referral to the hospital in the occupied interior (i.e., Israel) was not approved is that the president [Abbas] has decided to stop the referrals to the Israeli hospitals but there are sick people who are still being treated in the occupied interior."
Until recently thousands of Palestinians every year, such as Majed, were receiving medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. But this humanitarian program came to an end, when the Palestinian Authority decided to stop sending its citizens in need of medical treatment to Israel. The PA's explained that since Israel is refusing to transfer the money the PA spent last year on salaries to terrorists (approximately $138 million), the PA will no longer permit Palestinians to travel for medical treatment in Israel, for which the PA has to pay. This decision clearly demonstrated the PA's priorities - the continued payment of the salaries to the Palestinian terrorist prisoners and released prisoners is more important than providing sick Palestinians with the opportunity to receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.
In a desperate attempt to try and invoke public pressure to force the PA to allow Majed to continue receiving his life saving treatment, his parents turned to the press to call on Mahmoud Abbas to approve the treatment:
"The father of the sick [boy] Majed Muhammad Majed Ah-Sha'er called on the relevant bodies and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to approve covering the cost of his child’s trip to Ichilov Hospital in the occupied interior (i.e., Israel) that was set for June 4, 2019, to complete his treatment."
Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, May 28, 2019
It should be noted this story was not reported in the official PA press.
Palestinian Media Watch notes that the decision of the PA to stop referrals of Palestinians to Israeli hospitals appears only to have affected the regular Palestinians such as Majed, but not Palestinian leaders, such as Jibril Rajoub, who recently received medical treatment in the very same Israeli Ichilov hospital.
Majed’s treatment which was to have been yesterday, had been scheduled long before Abbas prohibited Palestinians from going to Israeli hospitals. As of today there was no report in the Palestinian press that Abbas had changed his mind and permitted the treatment.
The following is the full article:
Headline: "The father of a sick person calls on the [PA] president and the minister of health to allow his son complete his treatment in Israel"
"The father of the sick [boy] Majed Muhammad Majed Ah-Sha'er called on the relevant bodies and Palestinian [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to approve covering the cost of his child’s trip to Ichilov Hospital in the occupied interior (i.e., Israel) that was set for June 4, 2019, to complete his treatment and carry out the necessary medical tests...
The father said that his seven-year-old son from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip has suffered from leukemia since 2015, and that he has been transferred to hospitals in the occupied interior since the outbreak of the disease. He added that he has received full treatment and that the response [to the treatment] has been good. He also said that the doctors have emphasized that check-ups need to be made every six months in order to complete the treatment and necessary medical tests.
The father explained that the request [for approval of] his son’s trip on the 4th of next month was submitted to the relevant bodies in Ramallah, but his referral to Ichilov Hospital was not approved and the doctors have said that he is expected to be referred to a different hospital in the occupied West Bank.
He added: ‘The reason that the referral to the hospital in the occupied interior was not approved is that the president has decided to stop the referrals to the Israeli hospitals (a decision made in response to Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law to deduct terror salaries; see note below -Ed.), but there are sick people who are still being treated in the occupied interior.’
The father said with sadness in his eyes that his child has been treated in the occupied interior since the outbreak of his disease, and that the doctors that are monitoring his condition have the full information about the disease and the methods of treatment. He added: ‘We have completed 90% of the treatment, but after all this time he is being transferred to another hospital while at a very sensitive stage - especially considering the fact that we have three years left to complete the visits and confirm that he is healthy, out of concern for deterioration or the return of the disease.’
He expressed hope that the Palestinian president and the bodies responsible for the referrals will approve his son's trip to Ichilov Hospital in the occupied interior in order to complete the treatment."
Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, May 28, 2019
Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.