Al-Zanoun: 2150 Palestinians killed, 36,000 wounded during Intifada

The Palestinian minister of health Riad al-Zanoun has stressed that number of wounded Palestinians is increasing and huge number of the wounded and the patients did not find needed medicines and the Israeli siege and the Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from having access to the wounded and treating them at hospitals.

He said that medicines and medical instruments started to expire despite measures taken by the ministry of health before the brutal Israeli aggression which destroyed the hospitals and displaced 28,000 families. He added that the buildings of the Palestinian ministry of health were bombarded and their content were robbed by the Israeli forces.

He said that the computers which have special data on the births and patients were destroyed by the Israelis.

On the losses inflicted on the Palestinians in Jenin, al-Zanoun stressed that "380 Palestinians were killed including children and women and the ambulances were prevented from reaching them and those who stayed alive were shot to death -- in cold blood -- and within 19 months the Palestinian wounded were more than 35,835 while 1500 were shot by the Israelis."

On the Arab aid, Dr. Riad said that the Palestinian authority and the ministry of health has a strategic storage provided by regular aids by the Egyptian ministry of health and the Egyptian doctors association and the Egyptian Red Crescent and also from the Arab states.

On the obstacles impeding the access of medical aid to Palestine, Dr. Riad al-Zanoun said that the aid used to reach us ten days after its arrival at the Israeli check points and the Israeli authorities only permited the entry of one truck.