Paris - Following the unexpected violent confrontations since September 29 in both Jerusalem and the autonomous Palestinian Authority, MSF has decided to send an additional medical team as well as medical supplies.

The MSF team is already on site has been able to provide emergency medical supplies in response to specific demands from care centres in Jerusalem, Naplouse, Hebron and Ramallah.

MSF fears that the movement of people is now impossible and the transport of supplies to hospitals from the central pharmacy in Ramallah is hindered because of insecurity and because of some territories are sealed off by the army. In effect, three tons of supplies - primarily surgical - will be transported towards Tel Aviv in the coming days from MSF's logistic base in Bordeaux.

One doctor and one logistician left Paris on October 7th for the region. They are evaluating the situation and organizing the distribution of medical material. They will be joined during the week by an anaesthesiologist. First evaluations in the visited hospitals show an important proportion of people wounded by live bullets.

Active in Jerusalem and Hebron for several years, MSF teams were already on site when the confrontation broke out in 1996, in order to carry support to hospitals facing an influx of injured patients.