Due to Curfew and Closure, Palestinian Journalist Cannot be Released from Ramallah Hospital
Today, Adalah filed a pre-petition to the Attorney General and the Israeli Army's Legal Advisor for the West Bank on behalf of a Palestinian journalist, Mr. Carlos Yousef Handel, seeking a permit to allow him to leave Arabcare Hospital in Ramallah and to return home to Bethlehem. Due to a military curfew and closure imposed on Ramallah, Mr. Handel cannot leave the hospital or the city.
Mr. Handel, a journalist with a local Palestinian television station, El-Nile TV, was shot by Israeli soldiers in the neck and jaw while driving in Ramallah on 29 March 2002. He was brought to Arabcare Hospital in Ramallah, where doctors operated on him, and where he remained in critical condition for several days. Mr. Handel is due to be released from the hospital today. In two weeks, he must travel to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem for a second operation, which can only be performed by a specialist there.
The Israeli Army Legal Advisor for the West Bank initially denied Adalah's request for a permit, sought by Staff Attorney Suhad Bishara. The Legal Advisor suggested that it might be possible to issue the permit at a later date, but refused to make a specific commitment.
