The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health appealed Wednesday to Israel to deliver seven oxygen machines donated by a Norwegian development agency that were seized by Israeli officials en route to hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza.
Heath Minister Fathi Abu Moghli delivered a second letter of appeal to donor countries and organizations, calling for "urgent intervention" for the medical supplies to be delivered to hospitals in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Abu Moghli said the oxygen machines, donated by NORWAC in February 2010, were confiscated by Israeli authorities, who said they could be used for non-medical purposes.
The ministry sent an appeal on 24 June, warning that "Any delay in obtaining the medical equipment will negatively affect the health of patients."
On 5 July, the ministry received notification that the customs clearances procedures had been completed, Abu Moghli said, adding that the oxygen machines remain in holding at the Ashdod seaport.
The latest letter of appeal detailed that an urgent request for the equipment's release sent via international donors nearly one month earlier had received no response, and noted that the first appeal was only issued after several written appeals to Israeli authorities had passed unanswered.
The machines, he said, were vital for the Palestinian healthcare sector, and refusing to deliver the equipment would "negatively impact" Palestinian health and the safety of patients.
Permitting the machines' delivery is a "purely humanitarian issue," the minister stated, calling on the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene immediately.
A spokesman for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
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