Doctors in the Gaza Strip were forced to amputate the legs of two Palestinians who were wounded in border clashes with IDF forces, after Israel refused to allow their transfer to a West Bank hospital, two left-wing NGOs said.

The Adalah and Al Mezan organizations said Yousef Karnaz, 20, and Mohammad Al-Ajouri, 17, were both shot and wounded when tens of thousands of Gazans converged near the border with Israel on March 30 for the first in a series of planned protests that led to bloody confrontations.

The organizations said Gaza doctors did not have the proper equipment to treat the two. The groups filed a petition in Israel’s top court on Sunday demanding that authorities allow them to exit the Strip to get urgent treatment in a better-equipped hospital in Ramallah to save their legs.

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It came after an earlier request to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli body responsible for coordination with Palestinians, was ignored, the groups said in a statement.

But on Monday the Supreme Court gave the state three days to respond, forcing Gazan doctors to amputate one of each of the men’s legs, the statement added.

The state responded that while the men fulfilled the medical criteria required to get approval, they were denied entry because their injuries “stemmed directly from their participation in the riots.”

The Supreme Court was said scheduled to discuss the case again on Thursday, since the second leg of one of the men is still in danger of amputation.

“The amputation of the two young men’s legs could have been prevented if the state had complied with its obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law,” said attorney Sawsan Zaher of Adalah in the statement. “The state’s response indicates that Israel’s policy is to prevent those in danger of losing organs from leaving Gaza for medical treatment, in order to punish them for participating in a non-violent protest.”

Israel’s policy “may constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and/or torture under the UN Convention Against Torture,” the two groups claimed.

Israeli forces have killed 32 Palestinians and wounded thousands since March 30, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry figures, in mass protests that the Palestinians dub the “March of the Return.” Hamas, an Islamist terror group that seeks to destroy Israel, has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members.

Israel says it opens fire when necessary to stop damage to the border fence, infiltrations and attempted attacks. It alleges that Hamas, whose leaders have said the demonstrations are ultimately aimed at erasing the border and liberating Palestine, is seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.

Last Friday, during the second week of a series of events set to culminate on May 15, about 20,000 Palestinians demonstrated along the Gaza border in what Israel has described as a riot orchestrated by Hamas, and what Palestinians say was supposed to be a peaceful protest.

Israel’s army spokesman Ronen Manelis specified that evening that eight explosive devices and numerous petrol bombs were thrown during the day, and that the IDF faced several attempts “to cut through the fence…. There were attempts to carry out acts of terrorism … using the smoke [from burning tires] for cover,” Manelis said.</s>Two Palestinian demonstrators had to have their legs amputated because Israel didn't let them enter the West Bank after the protests that erupted at the Gaza border.

This goes to show just how unjust the Israeli government is toward the Palestinian population living under military occupation.

The case, which is now being discussed by the High Court of Justice because one of the amputees may need another amputation, wouldn’t have come to this if the two men had been allowed to enter in order to obtain proper treatment in Ramallah.

But when a petition was filed by the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights on behalf of the two men on Sunday requesting an urgent hearing, the court waited, giving the government three days to answer. Due to the delay and the initial refusal, the men lost one of their legs, Haaretz reports.

The men were injured after being shot in the legs during the demonstrations. And it was precisely because of their involvement in the protest that the Israeli authorities used as a reason to reject their request. Still, they recognized that the men did, indeed, meet the requirements for getting the permission.

If the government had simply kept its word and followed their own protocol, the men could have had their legs saved.

According to Adalah Legal Center attorney Sawsan Zahar, the amputations “could have been prevented if the state had fulfilled its obligation under the humanitarian international law.” Unfortunately, Zahar added, the Israeli government cares little for international law. Instead, they found a way of punishing the Palestinians for their disagreement by not letting them get the medical attention they needed.

The Israeli authorities have been under fire by news organizations after Palestinians claimed that over two dozen protesters were killed by IDF soldiers. And yet, none of this has been addressed by President Donald Trump, whose apparent loyalty to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes him ignore human rights abuses committed by the Israeli government.

What will it take for the U.S. to condemn the Israeli government's disturbing actions?</s>
• act to allow seriously wounded Gaza residents access to emergency medical care in Israel or passage to the West Bank/East Jerusalem;
• to establish a special emergency procedure designed to facilitate immediate entry for wounded Gazans to access urgent medical care in Israel, the occupied West Bank, or beyond.

Two young men are in danger of losing their legs if they remain in Gaza hospital; Al Mezan, Adalah petition Israeli Supreme Court after Israeli military took four days to reject transfer requestIsrael is refusing to let two young Palestinian men-who were seriously wounded by Israeli military gunfire as unarmed protesters during demonstrations in Gaza-travel to the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank for urgent medical care.Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court yesterday, 8 April 2018, demanding Israel let the two seriously wounded young men leave the Gaza Strip.The two men -- Yousef Karnaz, aged 20, and Mohammad Al-'Ajouri, aged 17, both from Gaza-were wounded when Israeli troops fired on them during the 30 March 2018 Land Day protests.Since Shifa hospital does not have the required medical tools to save their legs, it referred both men to Al Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah on 1 April 2018 and a request to exit Gaza and transfer to Ramallah was submitted to the Israeli military's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) that same day.However, COGAT did not respond and Adalah and Al Mezan sent an urgent letter on 4 April requesting authorization for their immediate passage from Gaza to Ramallah. On 5 April, Adalah was informed that COGAT refused the patients' requests.Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher wrote in the Supreme Court petition that "there is no substantive justification for rejecting the request of the two petitioners, who are both confined to the ICU in critical condition. The rejection of their request is an expression of indifference to the amputation of their legs."Continued Israeli refusal to allow Karnaz and Al-'Ajouri access to urgent medical care constitutes a violation of their right to life and health and is a violation of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Israeli constitutional law anchored in Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.Hospitals in Gaza are struggling to deal with upwards of 1,990 wounded by Israeli snipers, live ammunition, tear gas from drones, among other kinds of excessive force. Doctors report they are running out of medicine and supplies to treat patients.On 1 April 2018, Adalah and Al Mezan sent an urgent letter to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Chief Military Advocate General (MAG) Sharon Afek, and COGAT Commander Major General Yoav Mordechai, demanding that they:The letter was written in response to three cases of seriously wounded Gazans seeking medical care outside of Gaza who were denied entry by COGAT."The Israeli authorities must not use the guise of security to delay the medical transfer of persons who have been incapacitated due to serious injury and who do not pose a security threat. The injured must be given a chance to live. Without appropriate care available in Gaza, due largely to the illegal closure that maintains the movement restrictions on all patients, this is ultimately an issue of the fundamental right to life," said Issam Younis, Director of Al Mezan. "Incontrovertibly, all of Gaza's patients hold the basic human right of access to medical care."The human rights organizations' stressed in the letter that, in urgent circumstances, it is not feasible to operate according to Israel's standard procedures for patients,and that immediate exit from Gaza must be permitted in order for wounded to receive medical care.critically concerning the rights to life and health, and under international humanitarian law. Preventing the entry for medical care of individuals wounded by Israeli military gunfire is a violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power - and a violation of both international and Israeli law," Attorney Zaher wrote in the letter. Read the Al Mezan-Adalah petition [Hebrew]</s>A senior Israeli official on Thursday formally complained to Ireland's ambassador after Dublin's mayor slipped past an entry ban to attend a Palestinian conference.

Deputy director general Rodica Radian-Gordon "expressed her amazement and deep disappointment at the fact that the mayor chose to participate in a blatantly anti-Israel event," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Lord Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha entered Israel on his way to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for a conference Wednesday night on the disputed status of Jerusalem.

Although he was officially barred from entry for alleged anti-Israel activity, he passed unchallenged through immigration at Tel Aviv airport late Tuesday, reportedly due to a clerical error misspelling his name.

Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Its Palestinian eastern sector was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed to the Jewish state.

Palestinians want it as the capital of their future state.

The Israeli statement quoted Radian-Gordon as saying Mac Donncha's Ramallah visit was "particularly jarring" as it took place on Holocaust remembrance day, which Israel marked from sunset Wednesday.

It added that the Jewish state "expects a public and official Irish response to the conduct of the council of its capital city and particularly its head, who are conducting a campaign of discrimination and hatred against the state of Israel".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, wrote on Facebook that he had instructed the ministry to hold a "clarification discussion" with Mac Donncha.

Netanyahu said the Ramallah conference "featured prominent images" of Haj Amin al-Husseini, leader of a 1936 revolt against the British mandate over Palestine and grand mufti of Jerusalem.

To Palestinians he is a national hero, but Israelis remember him as an ally of the Nazis. In 2015 Netanyahu suggested that he gave Hitler the idea to exterminate Jews -- a claim dismissed by historians.

"I have one message for the mayor," Netanyahu wrote. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Interviewed by Israeli state-run Kan 11 television outside the conference hall in Ramallah, Mac Donncha appeared never to have heard of al-Husseini.

"I'm not even aware of the individual that you mention. People who have stood up to fascism in all kinds of forms all over the world were here today," he told the interviewer.

"I think that's a distraction, it really is a distraction."

Israel ordered a probe Wednesday into how Mac Donncha was allowed into the country.

Israeli daily Haaretz said the ban order sent to airport immigration officials misspelled Mac Donncha's name, meaning he did not show up on the watch list.

The paper said he has ties with the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which promotes a boycott of Israeli businesses and foreign firms which trade in the country.

Israel's interior ministry and strategic affairs ministry blamed each other for the mixup, it said.

Air and sea passengers travelling to the West Bank must pass through Israel, while the land border between the territory and Jordan is controlled by Israeli security and immigration officials.</s>Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip amputated the legs of two Palestinian youths Wednesday after the IDF had denied a request to transfer them to the West Bank for further treatment, according to a press release by Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.



Yousef Karnaz, 20, and Mohammad Al-'Ajouri, 17, were shot and wounded by the Israeli military during the recent "Great March of Return" protests in the Gaza Strip on March 30.</s>Israeli Government officials say misspelling of Mícheál MacDonncha's name allowed him into the countryDublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.Israeli authorities say they are examining ways to expel Dublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha and will issue him a letter after he leaves Israel stating that he will not be permitted to visit again.The Mayor is currently in the West Bank city of Ramallah after border control officials at Ben-Gurion airport failed to prevent his entry last night due to the misspelling of his name on the warrant issued preventing him from entering the country.The Sinn Féin councillor travelled to Ramallah on the invitation of the Palestinian Authority , to attend a conference held on the status of the city of Jerusalem A source in the population and immigration authority said the Dublin mayor entered Israel due to a technological glitch."The details aren't received with the man's picture," the source explained."The ministry of strategic affairs misspelled the man's name in the document it gave the border control, and that's how it was entered into the system. If someone is barred from entering, the system should produce a warning as soon as the name is entered, but when someone arrives with a passport bearing a different name, there's no way of knowing about the ban."The interior ministry claims it was provided with the wrong name, but the strategic affairs ministry insists Mr MacDonncha's name was spelled correctly.Interior minister Arieh Deri said an investigation was underway."The probe is necessary in order to prevent such mishaps in the future and to glean lessons from what happened," he said."After the Lord Mayor of Dublin departs from the country, and in light of his activity against Israel, I've instructed that a letter be delivered to him which would forbid future entry into Israeli territory."Mr Deri decided to bar the Mayor, who was invited to a conference in Ramallah as a guest of the Palestinian Authority, due to his active promotion of a boycott against Israel.Last August, Israel introduced a new policy to bar boycott activists from entering Israel. Officials in the strategic affairs ministry recommended Mr MacDonncha be denied entry into Israel due to his "consistent and clear activity to advance boycotts against Israel", and his activity in one of the most radical boycott groups, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.Strategic affairs minister Gilad Erdan said "the policy I set is clear: He who works consistently to boycott Israel will not enter here". Israel's foreign ministry also issued a statement condemning the Dublin council decision calling for the Government to expel the Israeli ambassador."The city of Dublin adopted a shameful and ridiculous resolution, in the hateful spirit of Hamas and similar organisations," the statement said."It is utterly unacceptable that the capital city of a country which is a member of the European Union adopts resolution that is entirely a boycott, hateful and racist. We expect a scathing Irish condemnation of this despicable resolution."Speaking on Wednesday morning on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr MacDonncha said he brought a message of support from Dublin for the need for inclusivity, a negotiated settlement and dialogue.Rejecting criticism that he should be focusing on the housing crisis in Dublin rather than travelling to Palestine, Mr MacDonncha said the visit was for only three days and that Ardmhéara had traditionally made occasional international visits.Mr MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.Recent events in Gaza with the shooting of protesters by Israeli soldiers were reminiscent of Bloody Sunday in Derry, but on a larger scale, he said.The move by the Israeli government to declare Jerusalem the capital of the State of Israel was a backward step in the peace process, he added.Last year the United States also recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a move that sparked protests among Palestinians. "It's very difficult to see hope of a peace deal," Mr Mac Donncha said.
Adalah and Al Mezan say Gazan doctors had to amputate the legs of two young protestors wounded by Israeli fire after Israel refused permission for their transfer to Ramallah in the West Bank for treatment. Israel says the men were refused transfers because they were involved in violence.