A report issued by the organization Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) indicates that the West Bank's health system is on the verge of collapse. The main cause identified is the lack of liquidity resulting from the retention of $2.5 billion (approximately 2.3 billion euros) belonging to the Palestinian Authority by Tel Aviv.
Milena Ansari, PHRI director for the Palestinian territories, denounced in the document that the continuous retention of Palestinian revenues transcends a mere technical financial dispute, constituting part of a broader policy with direct impacts on the civilian population.
The data presented in the report shows that more than 75% of centers of the Palestinian Ministry of Health (447 out of 590 existing) have had their activity drastically reduced, operating only once or twice a week.
Furthermore, since 2025, 63% of primary health centers operate only partially, with many running only one day a week, in contrast to the six days of operation recorded before October 7, 2023.
Following the Hamas attacks in the southern part of Israeli territory and the subsequent start of the Israeli military offensive affecting the Gaza Strip, Israel has retained billions of dollars in fiscal and customs revenues collected in the name of the Palestinian Authority, the governmental body responsible for administering parts of the occupied West Bank.
Without these financial resources, the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah party leader, faces difficulties in paying its public employees, purchasing medicine, and keeping public hospitals and pharmacies operational.
Last May, Palestinian doctors initiated an indefinite strike due to the absence of salary payments, which resulted in the closure of primary health centers and the limitation of emergency and intensive care services.
Even after the Palestinian Medical Association announced the gradual lifting of the strike a month later, the PHRI report emphasizes that healthcare professionals continue to operate with diminished capacity, simultaneously dealing with drug shortages and payment delays.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's Finance Minister, described as a settler and defender of Jewish supremacy, stopped transferring monthly revenues from customs duties to the Palestinian Authority as early as last year.
According to information from the International Crisis Group (ICG), up to June, Israel had retained an accumulated amount of at least $2.5 billion. This financial crisis occurs parallel to the intensification of Israeli military incursions and circulation restrictions in the West Bank, which worsens access to health services for more than three million Palestinians, who require special authorization to enter Israel or East Jerusalem.
