At the start of his medical mission in
the occupied territories, Dr. Raffaele Salinari, Italian surgeon and President
of the International Federation Terre des hommes, was lengthily questioned
in the Tel Aviv Airport, detained all night, then thrown out of Israel.
Doctor Raffaele Salinari was part of a mission composed of two physicians
- one of whom is an emergency and intensive care specialist - and two nurses
with a long experience in refugee camps. In collaboration with a Palestinian
medical assistance organisation, this mission was aimed at helping war
victims. The European Union was also contributing financially to the mission.
Terre des hommes deplored the arrest
and the expulsion of the medical team members, that were bodily searched,
roughly treated and interrogated eight times by the Israeli authorities.
The children's charity singled out the Israeli Interior Ministry's justification
for its expulsion order which based itself on the banning of non-governmental
humanitarian organisations working in military operation zones. It intends
to complain to Israeli representations in Europe regarding the obstacle
to humanitarian aid - its negation in this case - and the violation of
the Geneva Convention's essence.
Terre des hommes has run health programs for mothers and children in this area for almost twenty years. Over 100'000 people have benefited from these programs. Supported by the Swiss government (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation / Foreign Affairs Department), these essential services are currently deeply disrupted by war operations and the rampant use of check-points by the Israeli authorities to control movements of the civilian population.
Further Informations: Pierre Zwahlen, Tel. ++41 21 654 66 38 or ++41 79 615 44 33