The war for land permeates every square meter of land. Palestine. It seeps deep into the mud, filling it with tears and sometimes blood. is one with any Palestinian territory. But there is a place where this struggle is a daily, cyclical, constant struggle. In order not to let them go, dust gets into their throats. With the mud settled in his intestines, his health deteriorates day by day. Inside Masafer Yachta desert area on the outskirts south hebron surviving in the occupied West Bank 1,144 Palestinians They were distributed in 12 districts. emergency evacuation risk With the power of the soil that grows them, the soil that feeds them.
“I am scared, A big fearA woman hiding under her name confesses. Lovesmall town resident jinba. “Is there a bigger word than fear to express how I feel?” she wonders. His testimony is one of hundreds that a new report has collected. Doctors Unlimited (MSF) called ‘The unbearable life: Health implications of mandatory evacuation measures for residents of Israel’s Masafer Yatta. In this desert region, standing infrastructure remains less and less. In the 1980s, when the Israeli authorities declared this area “closed military zone”The lives of these natives were changed forever.
“Making Life Impossible”
Now settler attacks people around unite The violence of the Israeli army He was sent there with the task of expelling them. “Israeli authorities are making their lives a dungeon in order to drive the residents of Masafer Yatta away from there,” he denounces. David CanteroMSF’s general coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories. “This forced displacement, prohibited by international law humane and war crime”, confirms for this newspaper. After years of threats, attacks and despair, the physical and mental health of these Palestinians is rapidly deteriorating. Especially since May 2022, A decision by the Israeli Supreme Court removed all legal barriers to the forced displacement of the indigenous people of the region.
Since then, MSF staff have had a strong growing demand for mental health services among residents experiencing home invasions and demolitions. Following these events, in 2022, more than half of MSF patients developed psychosomatic symptoms, a quarter showed post-traumatic symptoms, and two-thirds depressive symptoms. “A constant fear and great uncertaintyThey don’t know when their house, school or water tank will be demolished,” Cantero accuses. “They are exposed to extremely high levels of humiliation and suffering“, To add.
deliveries on the way
Elderly, adults and children resisting on Masafer Yatta are experiencing great difficulties beyond the great harm they have done to their mental health. difficulties in accessing medical services. Patients are systematically not allowed to enter the villages where MSF provides health services. identification It indicates that they came from somewhere else. “In this challenging environment It was created by the Israeli authorities,” explains Cantero. ambulances Attempting to access the area is delayed or even blocked. Getting to the hospital is one Odyssey because many residents are held at checkpoints and face long delays that affect their health.
“For one person pregnant womanit all depends on luck: if he can reach the hospital [sin ser retornada en un punto de control], then you will be safe; otherwise she will give birth on the way.” raghdaresident um vomit. He concludes by saying “God help us”. In all towns the situation is criminal. “imagines your son is sick and you want to take him to the doctor, but there is no car and the road is long,” he explains. Jamlarelated to Khirbet Al Fakih. “If you want to go on foot, you will need at least four hours; then even you who are healthy will get sick,” says the report.
Resist, suicide mission
Resisting in the midst of so much pressure is presented as a suicide mission. “The number of consultations between May and October 2022 decreased by 30% and we attribute this to: many people no longer and the difficulties of access,” Cantero argues. They lost one chronic patient per month last year, but they lost an average of four patients in 2022. “There are many medically vulnerable patients from the departed Masafer Yatta; women who are chronically ill, elderly or in the final stages of pregnancy they don’t want to take risks The state of being blocked in case of needing urgent medical attention to EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA from the Prena Ibérica group,” he said.
But many of them are still there, in the mud their ancestors carved out of them. heritage. “The Palestinian population in general and that of Masafer Yatta in particular incredibly flexiblethey are doing everything they can to stay and live in their home and home. black who says it belongs to them and their ancestors,” adds Cantero. No bulldozers, no stones thrown by radical settlers, no early morning raids by young soldiers, no decision of Israeli courts. nothing can beat loveto match their lands. Yasserwho lived all his life Al Halaweh, he will not go. “The plan is to kick us out of the area, but we’ll stay here. even if only one chicken remains” he argues.