Politics of Deteriorating Health in Palestine

The purpose of this paper is to review the current health situation of the Palestinian population and situate Palestinian health conditions within a political and human rights framework. It seeks to provide current evidence of the direct and indirect impact of Israel's policies and human rights violations on the health status of the Palestinian population based on the literature and research in the field.  The ongoing occupation makes the health of Palestinian population and their corresponding health care system, both in the public and private sector, vulnerable to ongoing and more recent Israeli policies. Efforts by Palestinian professionals and the international health community to provide health services have been constantly thwarted. The Israeli authorities' persistent disregard for Palestinian health and health care is responsible for a vast number of Palestinian deaths.  Israeli policies affect all aspects of health and health care for Palestinians in the West Bank, including the refugee population.  Illustrative examples linked to key Israeli policies and practices and human rights violations are presented in this paper and include mental health and addiction, maternal and child health, nutrition, environmental health,  access to health care and movement restrictions, and quality of care. This paper will also introduce the growing social inequalities in health within Palestine that are due, in part, to Israeli policies. This analysis provides further evidence of the human rights and social justice violations and the wide-ranging effects on health experienced daily by the Palestinian people as a direct result of the Israeli military occupation.