UN: 1,400 Palestinian Protesters May Suffer Long-Term Disability

July 13, 2018 Blog, News
Palestinians take part in Gaza's Great March of Return. (Photo: Abdallah Aljamal)

Some 1,400 Palestinians shot by Israeli forces during “Great March of Return” protests in the occupied Gaza Strip face the possibility of “long-term disability”, a United Nations agency has said.

The UN OCHA report, contributed by the World Health Organization and the Disability Working Group, said:

Gaza’s “health sector has continued to struggle with the cumulative caseload of serious injuries, particularly those requiring long-term rehabilitation”.

One obstacle, for example, is that,

“the import to Gaza of materials required for the production of artificial limbs, including carbon fiber and epoxy resins, is restricted, due to Israel’s consideration of these materials as ‘dual use’ items, which could be used also for military purposes.”

Since the start of demonstrations on March 30 up to June 30, says the report, a total of 15,501 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces, of whom 8,221 required hospitalization.

As of July 3, 53 Palestinians had received lower limb amputations and eight had upper limb amputations, with 11 children among the amputees.

OCHA added:

“Additionally, at least ten other Palestinians have been left paralyzed following spinal cord injuries.”

As of June 26, meanwhile, more than 1,400 Palestinians “with severe injuries are at risk of longer-term physical disability”.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)

    Learn More     Watch Video
(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization, thus, all donations are tax deductible.)
Our Vision For Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out

Related Articles