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Israel Assails Report by the Who on State of Health in Territories

May 12, 1989
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A report on health conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israel says is biased, was circulated Thursday to the delegates from 166 countries attending the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly here.

The assembly is the governing body of the World Health Organization. The report will be used by the Arab states as the basis for a resolution condemning Israel, which the U.N. agency will be asked to adopt when debate on it opens Monday.

The report was prepared by three doctors, from Romania, Indonesia and Senegal, who were recruited by the Arab bloc.

Israel refused to let them visit the territories, claiming they were prejudiced. Israel has not cooperated since 1985 with medical teams sent to examine conditions in the territories for the WHO.

The report, focusing on the Palestinian uprising, states that 49 percent of the Arab casualties were caused by beatings, 39 percent by bullets and 8 percent by tear gas.

An Israeli diplomat here denounced the report as lopsided. He said it omitted any mention of the health services the inhabitants of the territories receive from the Israeli Health Ministry.

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