[Beerinkol]

Misinformation and Bias
Indeed, the overall impression that The Lancet seeks to bring can be summed up by an article that states: On Feb 28, the day that international contributors to the conference were arriving in Ramallah, hundreds of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli security forces, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. There was tension in the air; the smell of violence everywhere; and denial or restricted access from one part of the West Bank to another and to East Jerusalem.Of course, there was no such incident as a storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by anyone let alone "hundreds of Israeli settlers".
Another article states: 1400 people were estimated to have died, and many were injured during the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory, from Dec 27, 2008, to Jan 18, 2009; and the destruction of infrastructure, including homes, was unprecedented.Even without addressing the fact that the report ignores that terrorists were part of the estimated number of casualties, have the authors forgotten that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005? How can it be described as "occupied Palestinian territory"?
This same mistaken description appears again in another article under the emotive title "Women in labour and midwives during Israeli assault on Gaza Strip: between bullets and labour pains": We report the personal accounts of childbirth experiences and coping skills of women and midwives during the 23 days of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory, in December, 2008, and January, 2009.This article also includes allegations lacking in context from so-called "eyewitnesses" that do not belong in a credible medical study: As one woman said "nights were like 'ghouls'…I was not thinking like other people in face of death or shelling…but was only thinking of my case! What would happen if I had labour pains at night? How will I manage? They were shelling even ambulances!"Another outrageous claim that "pregnant mothers were denied access to hospitals for birth care" appears in a related article. While freedom of Palestinian movement has been restricted due to legitimate Israeli security concerns (context that is not mentioned in any of the reports), it is simply disingenuous to imply that Israel has deliberately withheld healthcare for pregnant Palestinian women.
Indeed, one is left with the overall impression from many of the articles that deficiencies in Palestinian health are purely Israel's fault as this article suggests: One of the most important achievements in Palestinian science was the publication of five reports from the ICPH in The Lancet 2009 Series Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This Series showed that Palestinian right to health was compromised because of Israeli occupation (squeezed economy, movement restrictions, spread of fear, uncertainty, insecurity), and confirmed adverse health effects due to occupation and systematic and avoidable differences in health implying health inequity.Omissions and Lack of Context
The above examples are but a tiny sample of how this large number of articles combine to create an overall bias against Israel. Also notable is what has been omitted from the articles. There is no mention of:

• The systematic use of medical facilities, vehicles and uniforms as cover for terrorist operations during Operation Cast Lead, in clear violation of the Law of Armed Conflict.

This included the extensive use of ambulances bearing the protective emblems of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to transport operatives and weaponry; the use of ambulances to "evacuate" terrorists from the battlefield; and the use of hospitals and medical infrastructure as headquarters, situation-rooms, command centers, and hiding places.

• The approval of entry of Gazans into Israel for medical treatment.
• No acknowledgement of the fact that there were terrorists amongst those killed during Operation Cast Lead.
• No mention of Israeli humanitarian aid to Gaza both during and after military operations.
• No mention of Hamas or Palestinian rocket and terror attacks.

Calling on Doctors to Take Action
Anti-Israel bias should have no place in medical journals. Getting an article or study published in such places as The Lancet is supposedly extremely difficult and subject to intense scrutiny through peer-review.
Why is it that the bar is lowered to allow the publication of articles by medical professionals and others who have clearly demonstrated a politicized anti-Israel agenda that goes way beyond the field of medicine?
If you are a certified medical professional, please contact The Lancet's Ombudsman, Charles Warlow - ombudsman@lancet.com