THis is how Palestinan patients are treated

Erez Crossing, by Donna Wallach:

"I along with others from Free Gaza Movement decided not to return withthe SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty to Cyprus and instead to remain in GazaStrip for a while to continue the work of breaking the siege. Throughoutthe time I am staying here I will participate with the others in variousactions in Rafah, Gaza City, and other areas throughout the Gaza Strip,including going out in fishing boats to challenge the Israeli Navypreventing the Palestinian fishermen from fishing more than 6 miles out.In addition, we are re-organizing ISM Rafah, to do Palestinian ledsolidarity work here."This past Friday a 64 year-old Palestinian woman from Beit Hanoun, GazaStrip arrived to the Erez crossing accompanied by all of the remainingmembers of the Free Gaza Movement. She has been suffering for sevenmonths with a tumor on her spine. Without the necessary surgery grantedher by St. Joseph Hospital in Jerusalem, she will become paralyzed andwill live in constant pain, from what I understand. We, FGM members,walked in front of her as a protection for her to not be shot by theIsraeli soldiers guarding their border. She was being pushed in awheelchair. Slowly we approached the Israeli side, holding our arms inthe air and many of us clutching our passports."A Palestinian man was the liaison between Dr. Mona El-Farra and theIsraeli "authorities". Dr. Mona El-Farra was the main organizer for thisaction of bringing this 64 year-old woman to cross the Erez checkpoint.The Palestinian man kept on telling us that we needed to stop becausethe Israelis told him they were going to shoot us. We decided it wasmore important to challenge the Crime Against Humanity of Israel notpermitting this woman to receive the urgent medical treatment sheneeded, so we continued to walk towards the Israeli gate with our armsup in the air. We finally reached the Israeli gate without a shot beingfired, not a bullet not a tear gas canister or a sound bomb. In the endthough, the Israelis heartlessly told the woman she had to go back home,but could return an 8th time."On Sunday 31st August, we from FGM arrived at about 9:00am from Rafah,the southernmost area in Gaza Strip, to Erez crossing, the northernmostarea in Gaza Strip. We came to continue standing in solidarity with thewoman from the village of Beit Hanoun. We arrived late and she and Dr.Mona El-Farra had already left for the border. We gathered inside thecrude fenced in area where all Palestinians and others wait forpermission to cross the dirt pathway to arrive to the Israeli gate. Wewaited hours, then we heard that the woman was turned back again, withridiculous excuse that a member of her family must accompany her intoIsrael to the hospital. This woman came back, yet was not defeated.Almost all the members of her family have been wrongfully blacklistedby Israel, meaning that they cannot enter the Apartheid State of Israel.Finally the woman's 75 year-old husband was granted permission to enterIsrael with her. After he arrived to Erez and the paper work for him wasfilled out, they went off to the Israeli side. We continued to wait inthe heat to hear that she had crossed and was inside the Israeliambulance that would take her to the hospital and to her surgery whichwas supposed to have started on Sunday. Dr. Mona El-Farra told us thatshe continued to tell the Israeli authorities that members of the FreeGaza Movement were waiting at Erez to ensure that the woman would enterthis time and that we were willing to die, we would walk again to theborder even if the soldiers would shoot and kill us, we would do what ittakes so that the Israelis would allow her to enter, which they finallydid. The 8th time was the charm for this very brave and courageous womansitting in a wheelchair who defied the Israelis with all of theirgunpower."31 August 2008Donna Wallach, Free Gaza Movementhttp://www.FreeGaza.org