AL QUDS HOSPITAL ‘ON BRINK OF CLOSURE’

Al-Quds (Occupied Jerusalem), 27 Dzulqa’dah 1435/23 September 2014 (MINA) – Medical officials in Jerusalem warned Monday that one of the city’s oldest hospitals is on the brink of closure after the Palestinian government’s failure to meet financial responsibilities.

In a news conference on the rooftop of one of the al-Makased hospital buildings in the al-Tur neighborhood, the hospital’s director said the the hospital was suffering from a critical financial crisis after the PA failed to transfer 64 million shekels of its dues.

Rafiq al-Husseini said the dues amount to 40 percent of the hospital’s annual budget, adding that the shortfall makes it unable to buy medical supplies and pay employee salaries, according to  Maan News Agency report monitored by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Tuesday.

He warned of the day when “the Israeli flag is raised” on the hospital’s building, saying that the news conference was being held on the rooftop to show the al-Aqsa mosque and the Israeli flags flying on the settlement surrounding it.

The deputy secretary general of the hospital’s workers union said employees had not received their salaries for three months, and the hospital was unable to provide the needed medical supplies.

Our crisis today is more than just salaries, it is a crisis of not being able to provide medical supplies, medicine, and even food,” Adnan al-Masri said.

He added that officials have constantly called on the PA and ministers to fulfill their commitments but failed. He contrasted this with the Israeli government, which spends billions to entrench its presence in Jerusalem.

Al-Masri said the union will take step that will start on Sept. 22 and range from canceling and rescheduling appointments to transferring patients to other hospitals before eventually evacuating it. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)