A prominent Palestinian doctor from the West Bank charged here Tuesday that Israel uses toxic gas to quell the demonstrations in the territories, and that as a result, more than 800 pregnant Palestinian women had lost their fetuses over the last 10 months.
Dr. Muhammad Jadalla, chairman of the Union of the Health Committees in the West Bank and Gaza, told a news conference here that Israel’s security forces are using a toxic tear gas known as CNNCS.
Ambassador Johanan Bein of Israel called Jadalla’s accusation a “blatant lie.”
“Israel never used toxic gas against demonstrators in the territories,” Bein said. “Israel only uses tear gas to disperse demonstrations, as used by all civilized countries.”
Jadalla contended that as a result of the “intifada,” there is an “emergency situation” in the territories as far as health-care services in the region are concerned.
He said that there are only two general hospitals in the West Bank available to treat the daily casualties in clashes between rioting Palestinians and Israeli troops.
Jadala also made the following claims:
There is an average of 30 Palestinian casualties every day.
There are only 12 ambulances serving more than 1.5 million Palestinians in the territories.
About 60 Palestinian children, who were hit by rubber bullets used by Israeli troops, have lost one eye. Three Palestinian children in the territories lost both eyes.
Jadalla claimed that in recent weeks, Israel has been using harsher, “more brutal” measures in an effort to stop the uprising.
He said that Israeli troops now use three types of bullet against the demonstrators: rubber, plastic and metal.
Jadalla, who is in the United States at the invitation of the Palestine Aid Society in America, said he met with many officials of non-governmental organizations in the United States and discussed with them “the very grave situation” of the medical services in the West Bank and Gaza.
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