Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon has accused Israel’s Ministry of Health of neglecting Palestinian hospitals in the occupied eastern section of the city after it failed to deliver essential equipment it promised to provide.

According to Moshe, Israel is failing to fulfill its responsibilities toward Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem as the highly contagious coronavirus continues to spread.

#UN Official: #Israel is Legally Responsible for Safety of #Palestinians https://t.co/PtWryNSeQO via @PalestineChron# pic.twitter.com/cNZ3Y79uk2

— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) March 27, 2020

In a letter to Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov, he stated:

“I would like to warn you regarding the serious shortage of medical equipment at the hospitals in East Jerusalem, particularly protective equipment and equipment to conduct coronavirus testing. This is despite repeated promises on the part of your (ministry).”

Abdel Qader Husseini, the president of the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network, told Al-Monitoronly two hospitals in Jerusalem are equipped to deal with coronavirus patients.

Husseini also added that Jerusalem hospitals would be in better shape if the United States had not cut aid for Palestinian patients treated at their hospitals.

Police violently arrest a Palestinian resident of Issawiya in occupied East Jerusalem next to the mosque. One would think residents would receive a break from months of violence & arrests while attention shifts to the coronavirus pandemic but there remains no end in sight. pic.twitter.com/N3dvz8sqeW

— 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒔 -هيذر شارونا (@sharona_weiss) March 31, 2020

On March 21, UN special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory, Michael Lynk, declared that Israel is legally responsible for providing health services to ensure the safety of Palestinians in the occupied territories during the fight against the coronavirus

“The legal duty, anchored in Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, requires that Israel, the occupying power, must ensure that all the necessary preventive means available to it are utilized to ‘combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics,’” Lynk said.

(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)