Besieged village facing severe medical and food shortage
Palestine, Local, 9/29/1997

Ever since Israel claimed the four Palestinian suicide bombers who blew themselves up in West Jerusalem last July and early in September had come from the village of Assira Ash-Shamaliya near Nablus on the West Bank, Israeli troops have raided the village almost on a daily basis mainly at night, causing, according to local villagers, fear and suffering among the people.

Reports from inside the village said the Israeli army has cordoned off the area and has imposed a strict siege, and as such a serious shortage in food supplies and medicines has threatened the lives of hundreds of children in the village.

Assad Sawalmeh, the mayor, said the Israeli army had prevented people from leaving the village and obstructed entrance to the village by the outside world. He said that students in the village have not been allowed to go to their school, which is located outside the village borders.

A medical team that managed to sneak into the village via bypass roads through the surrounding mountains reported a serious shortage in medicine in the village pharmacies and noted that pills used by people with heart diseases could not be found in the village. The team checked some 400 patients from the village and said that many of those needed to be transferred to well-equipped hospitals for further treatment. However, the team said, no permits were granted by the Israeli soldiers.

Previous Stories:
  Collective punishment against families of suspected bombers and villages   (9/27/1997)
  More details on the uncovering of Hamas cell   (9/25/1997)
  Netanyahu contradicts his chief intelligence officer   (9/23/1997)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search