Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the status of health conditions and services in the West Bank and Gara Strip since 1967 and to determine the needs of the Palestinian people. Methodology. The study utilized focused synthesis design to gather various data and to describe systematically the facts and characteristics of health conditions and services. The study used five health conditions indicators (infant mortality, eye diseases, water supply, quality and sanitation, crowding, and nutritional status) and four health status indicators (health budget, hospital beds, physicians populace ratio, and primary health care clinics) to determine the status of health conditions and services and to identify the needs of the Palestinian people. Comparisons with 1967 surrounding Arab countries and Israel were used to determine if health conditions improved or deteriorated. Findings. The study found that a comparison between the state of health care delivery system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 and its current state shows a great deal of improvement in the system in general and, particularly, in the services to which the population had access. Significant improvements have been made by the indigenous Palestinian nongovernmental organizations and often despite the active opposition of the Israeli military authorities. A comparison between health conditions and services in the occupied territories and in neighboring countries indicates that the health care delivery system in the occupied territories is still lagging behind. Conclusions and recommendations. From 1967 until 1994 the health infrastructure of the occupied territories weakened and major obstacles confront the development of health services. The health development of the occupied territories cannot be achieved without a political solution to the Palestinian problem, a solution that would secure the end of the occupation and allow Palestinian self-determination, including the right to an independent Palestinian health system and independent control over economic and natural resources.