Palestinian construction workers in October at the site of the future medical facility next to the Erez Israel-Gaza crossing (AFP Photo/MAHMUD HAMS) |
Erez (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Volunteers with a US Christian charity group pose for a selfie in front of tents and crates of equipment to build a contentious new field hospital on the Israel-Gaza border.
The
facility, to be located right next to a crossing into Israel, has rare joint
support from the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas as part of an
informal truce deal.
But its
existence, and the way it has been advertised by the US non-government group
running it, is fuelling suspicions and rumours among some Palestinians.
Nicknamed
the "American hospital" by Palestinians, it is funded by the
evangelical Friend Ships organisation based in the US state of Louisiana.
Pictures
posted on the Christian group's Facebook page show young volunteers in dark
t-shirts hammering pegs into the ground and erecting a row of tents.
The dusty
10-acre (four hectare) site is right next to the Erez Israel-Gaza crossing,
making access possible from both sides -- though likely only with Israeli
permission.
The charity
website said the hospital would offer telemedicine for remote consultations
with specialists worldwide. It could later include cancer care as well as less
conventional offers, including treatments that involve horse-riding.
The medical
camp would be staffed heavily by volunteers after they have received 12 weeks
training, it said, urging Christians to sign up.
"We
will offer services to the public four days a week," the website said --
promising that on their days off volunteers can also enjoy cultural
experiences.
"For
those who would like to tour, you will have the option of making your own
arrangements to spend three days on your own, experiencing Israel."
A post on
Facebook by the group said volunteers would learn about the region and
"become part of what God is doing there today".
The
organisation, which previously operated a tent hospital on the Israeli side of
its disputed border with Syria, did not respond to a request for comment and
AFP was not permitted to visit.
The
timeline for opening was unclear.
COGAT, the
Israeli body responsible for coordinating access to Gaza, said the hospital was
"not connected to Israel".
'Not
needed'
Israel and
Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.
Hamas does
not recognise Israel's right to exist, while Israel's new defence minister,
Naftali Bennett, has pledged a hard line.
Yet the
hospital is indicative of a thawing after a longer-term truce was brokered this
year by Qatar, the United Nations and others.
The
facility has rare joint support from the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist
rulers
Hamas as part of an informal truce deal (AFP Photo/MAHMUD HAMS)
|
Gaza, which
has been blockaded by Israel for a decade, suffers crippling energy shortages
and high poverty.
Its medical
sector is overstretched, with hospitals chronically short of drugs and others
goods, many of which are restricted by Israel.
If
successful, the new tent hospital could provide an alternative for those in
need, while its close proximity to Israel would assuage the Jewish state's
fears over imports being syphoned off by Hamas.
Khalil
al-Hayya, Hamas's deputy head in Gaza, told journalists in a recent briefing
they would "evaluate the work of the hospital and its services to the
public".
"If it
is not the required level we will work to close it," he warned.
An official
at the Hamas-run health ministry insisted they would oversee the facility, for
which the first equipment was imported in September.
But
multiple aid sources said there had been little coordination with the United
Nations or the international humanitarian agencies which work in Gaza.
A
humanitarian aid staffer who worked in Gaza pointed out the location was only a
few minutes drive from two Palestinian hospitals inside the enclave.
"What
Gaza needs is money to pay its medical staff and access to more equipment and
drugs, not another basic hospital," he said.
Palestinian
split
The
initiative has met with fierce opposition from some quarters.
Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which is based in the West Bank and
opposes Hamas, even alleged it would be an American "military base".
"Hamas
is committing a crime against the Palestinian cause and against our people with
this approval," Fatah said in a statement on the new hospital.
Multiple
statements by Abbas's government have warned of "dubious intentions,"
suggesting, without citing evidence, that Washington was involved or that the
facility was part of attempts by the US and Israel to weaken the Palestinian
cause.
Abbas cut
off talks with the United States in late 2017 and accuses President Donald
Trump of trying to destroy Palestinian hopes of statehood.
Hamas
seized Gaza from Abbas's forces in a 2007 near civil war, but the international
community has continued to call for his internationally recognised Palestinian
Authority (PA) to return to power there.
Mukhaimer
Abu Saada, a politics professor in Gaza, said for Hamas the hospital was a
tangible result of the truce and could allow patients who are refused Israeli
travel permits to get treatment.
But Abbas,
he said, fears that the United States and Israel are seeking to de facto
recognise Hamas' rule in Gaza.
"The
PA is not part of the deal and worries that Hamas is competing with them to
represent the Palestinian people," Abu Saada said.
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