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PALESTINE

Wed 26 Jul 2023 3:29 pm - Jerusalem Time

Doctors Without Borders: Israeli measures in Masafer Yatta amount to war crimes

Today, Wednesday, Doctors Without Borders (Doctors Without Borders) confirmed that the humanitarian conditions experienced by the Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, as a result of the Israeli measures of forced displacement, have become intolerable, amounting to war crimes, and are in violation of international humanitarian law.


This came during a press conference held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in which it discussed the repercussions of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, specifically the health effects resulting from the occupation measures and the forced displacement of the residents of Masafer Yatta, under the title: (Unbearable Life).


"The Israeli coercive measures are undermining the health of people in Masafer Yatta, and its people are at risk of forced displacement," said Enas Abu Khalaf, director of the organization's global regional office in Amman.


She added, "Palestinians living in Masafer Yatta and its surroundings, in the south of the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian territories, face great challenges, such as living in constant fear of displacement, the demolition of their homes, the deprivation of water, the restriction of their movements, in addition to exposure to settler violence."


For his part, the head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in the occupied Palestinian territories, David Cante Ruberez, called on the international community to assume its legal responsibility for what the residents of Masafer Yatta are exposed to.


He added, "About 1,100 residents of Masafer Yatta live in danger of forced displacement, which constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law that Israel must respect, and constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and thus becomes a war crime."


"The residents of Masafer Yatta are subjected to all forms of violence. Soldiers enter villages at night, impose curfews and other restrictions, conduct military training near the residents' living areas, seize vehicles and demolish homes, which has made people's lives unbearable," said Roberez.


"As a humanitarian medical organization, we condemn Israeli policies and call on the Israeli authorities to immediately halt the displacement plan and stop implementing measures that restrict access to basic services, including medical care, for Palestinians in Masafer Yatta," he said.


He urged, "the international community to take urgent and necessary measures to protect the population and ensure respect for their human rights."


In her turn, Maryam Qabas, the supervisor of psychological counseling at Doctors Without Borders, confirmed, "This conference came to shed light on what is happening to the residents of Masafer Yatta, and to convey part of the doctors' experiences and their experience of the reality of the residents' suffering, which is absent from the media."


She stressed that the residents there are subjected to psychological pressures and great daily suffering as a result of the Israeli measures and the occupation’s attempt to forcibly displace them.


The press conference dealt with the health effects resulting from the Israeli measures for the residents of Masafer Yatta, which were witnessed by the organization's team.


During the conference, a documentary film entitled: "Musafir Yatta, the Forcibly Deported" was shown, which included testimonies from villagers who suffer from house demolitions and daily pressures.

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Doctors Without Borders: Israeli measures in Masafer Yatta amount to war crimes

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