Jason Greenblatt, the US' Middle East envoy for peace, has come under fire after criticising the Palestinian Authority (PA) for failing to provide adequate funds for a Palestinian child's blood cancer medication.
Greenblatt tweeted on Sunday: "Mr. Shtayyeh [Palestinian Prime Minister], how about keeping your word & paying for Rima's treatment? The PA has the funds and it would be a wise and compassionate use of them. Mr. Sabbah, my thoughts are with you and your family. I pray Rima will have a full and speedy recovery."
Mr. Shtayyeh, how abt keeping your word & paying for Rima's treatment? The PA has the funds & it would be a wise & compassionate use of them.
Mr. Sabbah, my thoughts are w you & your family. I pray Rima will have a full & speedy recovery. https://t.co/3V4polRiPz— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) July 14, 2019
Gaza-based Palestinian journalist Fathi Sabbah accused the PA on Friday of not being serious about providing medical care for his daughter Rima, reported Days of Palestine. On Facebook, Sabbah said that Prime Minister Shtayyeh had pledged to personally follow up on Rima's case. Ahmed Abu Houli, a member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, had further pledged to provide Rima with medical treatment in hospitals.
However, the treatment Rima received in Israel's Hadassah Hospital only included a medical check-up and did not cover the cost of her medication.
READ: Senior White House official declines to endorse Palestinian independence
Many responded to Greenblatt highlighting the irony of his tweet as Rima could have easily been treated without needing help from the PA if Gaza were not besieged.
Mr. Greenblatt: instead of praying, just ask Israel to lift the embargo. No body would buy your use of Rima's pain to hurt the Palestinians as a whole, especially Fathi and Rim will not.
— Yousef Ahmed (@abubashar) July 14, 2019
Mr. Greenplath. You can send this request to your Israeli friends who are besieging us in Gaza, and prevent us from medicine, air and food. If Gaza were not besieged, our friend Fathi could have treated his daughter easily without the need of anyone. Stop your siege on Gaza. ..
— د. عدنان أبو عامر (@AdnanAbuAmer74) July 14, 2019
Sabbah himself replied to Greenblatt, calling on him to put pressure on the Israeli government to allow Palestinian patients and their companions to travel to hospitals freely.
سيد غرينبلات: صحيح ان ابنتي ريما تعاني كثيرا جراء مرضها بلوكيميا الدم، واننا كعائلة واجهنا مشكلة مع السلطة الفلسطينية في التغطية المالية لعلاجها، لكنك لو كنت حريصا على حياة بنتي لضغطت على الحكومة الاسرائيلية للسماح لكل المرضى الفلسطينيين ومرافقيهم من التوجه بحرية للمستشفيات.
— Fathi Sabbah (@FathiSabbah) July 14, 2019
He noted that Israel does not permit 40 per cent of patients in the Gaza Strip to pass through the Erez crossing to go to hospitals in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel and that people have died waiting for travel permits.
سيد غرينبلات: هناك ٤٠٪ من مرضى قطاع غزة واكثر من ٥٠٪ من مرافقيهم لا تسمح اسرائيل لهم باجتياز حاحز ايرز للتوجه الى مستشفيات فلسطينية في الضفة الغربية والقدس وحتى مستشفيات اسرائيلية، وبعض المرضى مات قبل ان يحصل على تصريح اسرائيلي بالمرور.
— Fathi Sabbah (@FathiSabbah) July 14, 2019
Using his own experience as an example, he also noted how companions of patients are very often denied travel permits, despite hospitals sending requests to the government.
سيد غرينبلات: ابنتي ريما مكثت في مستشفى هداسا كل عام ٢٠١٧ لاجراء عملية زرع نخاع وكانت بحاجة ماسة جدا لاكون معها واسرائيل رفضت منحي تصريح لاذهب للمسنشفى رغم طلب هداسا وارسال تقارير طبية تؤكد على ضرورة ان اكون بجانب ابنتي ولا تزال ترفض منحي تصريح لمرافقتها في رحلة علاجها للان.
— Fathi Sabbah (@FathiSabbah) July 14, 2019
He ended his replies with a wider criticism of the White House's policies towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He particularly condemned US President Donald Trump unilaterally declaring Jerusalem Israel's undivided capital and moving the US embassy to the Holy City. He also mentioned the Trump administration's decision to end funding to UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency, as well as their continuous support for illegal Israeli settlements.
سيد غرينبلات: حكومة الدكتور اشتية اخطأت في منع تغطية علاج ابنتي وعشرات المرضى من غزة لكن ادارة الرئيس ترامب ارتكبت جريمة حينما منحت القدس عاصمة دولة فلسطين لاسرائيل وساندت الاستيطان غير الشرعي ومنعت الاموال عن السلطة الفلسطينية وانروا وانكرت حقي في العودة.
— Fathi Sabbah (@FathiSabbah) July 14, 2019
READ: The US administration and fanatic Zionism
Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.
Spotted an error on this page? Let us know
