The World - News from Aug. 17, 1989

Israeli officials are depriving the 700,000 Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip of adequate medical care as an additional means of battling the Arab uprising, a group of doctors charged. Members of the group--the Assn. of Israeli and Palestinian Physicians for Human Rights--said at a news conference that indifference by Israeli authorities and political obstacles also have led to poor medical care in the territories. The group cited a severe shortage of doctors--one per 1,400 residents in Gaza, compared to one per 400 residents in Israel. The military government’s chief medical officer in Gaza denied the charges.