The use of extreme physical violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the all-out war on Gaza began in October 2023 has increased, according to a new report by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), “Inflicting Harm and Denying Care: Patterns of Attacks and Obstructions of Healthcare in the West Bank.”

This escalation of violence at the hands of Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank has severely hindered access to health care and is part of a pattern of systemic oppression by Israel which has been described by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as amounting to racial segregation and apartheid.

"Palestinian patients are dying because they simply cannot reach hospitals," said Brice de le Vingne, MSF emergency coordinator. "We're seeing ambulances blocked by Israeli forces at checkpoints while carrying critical patients, medical facilities surrounded and raided during active operations, and health care workers subjected to physical violence while trying to save lives."