On November 11, 2021, ACRI petitioned the High Court of Justice along with a group of mothers, who are residents of Jerusalem, demanding that the state establish Tipat Halav family health centers in neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier. Tipat Halav family health centers provide essential health and medical services to infants and babies, as well as to pregnant women from the early stages of pregnancy to early parenthood. These centers are available to everyone living in Israel and are essential in the early years of a child's life.
However, fifteen years have passed since the state pledged to establish two Tipat Halav clinics in neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier. Yet residents of the Shuafat refugee camp and the adjacent neighborhoods must still spend hours on the road and cross a checkpoint to receive the essential service.
There are tens of thousands of residents of Israel who live in the neighborhoods of northeast Jerusalem, which is beyond the separation barrier – Ras Khamis, Ras Shehadeh, Dahiyat a-Salam and the Shuafat refugee camp. Thousands of them are infants, toddlers, young children, pregnant women, and parents – the target population for Tipat Halav services. While the distribution of Tipat Halav clinics in other parts of the city enables easy and convenient access, in these neighborhoods there is not a single Tipat Halav clinic operated by the Jerusalem Municipality that is supervised by the Ministry of Health.
The petition claims that Tipat Halav services are essential for the health, development, and well-being of infants, toddlers, children, and mothers, and that the rationale behind the establishment of Tipat Halav clinics is the provision of accessible services to community residents near their homes. The current situation violates the rights of residents in neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier, to equality, health, and access to health services.
On April 25, 2022, a hearing was held on the petition, and the Ministry of Health informed the court that within three months a tender would be completed for the establishment of a mother-baby clinic in the neighborhoods beyond the Separation Wall. The court ordered the state to submit an update by 5.9.2022.
HCJ 7566/21
Attorney: Tal Hassin
For further information (Hebrew)