WADI FUQEEN, West Bank – Asil Manasra, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl, was in her eighth month of intensive treatment at an Israeli hospital for complications arising from a long bout of tuberculosis when she was abruptly forced to stop the visits.
A week after she was discharged, she died.
It's impossible to know how much longer Asil might have lived, but her family is convinced she is the first victim of a Palestinian decision that has cut hundreds of people off from proper medical care and has led Israeli hospitals to turn away those in need.
It's another painful byproduct of a conflict that recently exploded into a month of open warfare, and has left both sides on the defensive against charges they have left the weakest and most desperate to pay the price.
"I blame everyone. Should children die because of political decisions?" asked Asil's father, Jamal Manasra. "How can you stop treatment? When a child is so sick that she is going to die, is there something more important than that?"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians_medical_mess;_ylt=Ak0DwdEJJ HS6gV2oVZj.W_cLewgF
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