Palestinian doctor dies from swine flu in Gaza

 GAZA, — A Palestinian doctor on Tuesday was proclaimed dead due to his infection with swine influenza in the Gaza Strip making him the fourth victim after three others earlier died from the same disease.

The Palestinian health ministry said that the deceased was a 55-year-old doctor called Mahmoud Al-Haddad who was already suffering from respiratory problems for two years and denied access to Israeli hospitals to receive medical treatment.

The ministry affirmed that a sample taken from Haddad’s blood proved his infection with the disease.

For its part, the Palestinian government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya said it is keenly following the outbreak of swine influenza in Gaza, stressing that the ministry of health is dealing responsibly with the issue and taking all measures to protect citizens.

During its weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government called on Gaza citizens to exercise awareness and composure and not to panic, and demanded the media not to deal with rumors and suspicious sources and rely on sources of the health ministry in Gaza.

The government also deplored the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah faction for spreading lies and exaggerations about the outbreak of the disease in Gaza and publicizing it, calling on them to work on the entry of medicines into Gaza instead of exploiting the suffering of others and playing cheap roles.

In another context, the government discussed different important issues in the Palestinian arena such as the freedom of political action guaranteed in Gaza, the political arrest policy and harassment of lawmakers in the West Bank and the Zionist Judaization schemes in occupied Jerusalem.