WHO condemns Israeli military operations
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 5/18/2002

The General Assembly of the World Health Organisation (WHO) condemned, during a meeting by its sub-committee in Geneva on Wednesday, the Israeli military operations against the Palestinian cities and camps, which left hundreds of Palestinian civilians dead.

WHO also condemned the Israeli aggression on Palestinian hospital and patients as well as the use of Palestinians as human shields during the Israeli incursion into the Palestinian territories.

WHO's resolution, which was presented by the Arab and Islamic groups, including Egypt, came with 48 votes against 8 with the abstention to 69 states.

The resolution carried strong expressions of condemnation considered as unacceptable by all European countries, the United States, Canada and Australia.

Egypt's permanent delegate to the United Nations Geneva headquarters Naela Gabr, who submitted the draft resolution, said the health conditions in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, had reached an unprecedented stage of deterioration as a result of the excessive use of force by Israeli troops.

WHO called on Israel to release all funds owed to the Palestinian Authority including health insurance funds.

The resolution called on the WHO director general to visit the Palestinian territories as soon as possible and reactivate the fact-finding commission, which was due to probe the health conditions in the Palestinian territories.

The European countries, including Switzerland, made reservations about the resolution and Canada, Australia, the United States and Georgia voted against it.

Before the deliberations on the resolution, Under-Secretary of the Palestinian Health Ministry Monzer A1 Sharif said that thousands of Palestinians, including 450 children, were killed in the past 20 months and more than 40,000 others were wounded in the Israeli attacks.

Also, health problem resulting from the Israeli aggression have left some 500,000 Palestinian children without vaccination against contagious diseases.

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