Palliative care in situations of conflict: lessons from Jerusalem

Situations of political conflict are characterized by enmity and the potential for, or actual, violence. Conflict of this ilk may be manifested as outright war, a cycle of terror and reprisals, or a grumbling enmity between religious, national, ethnic, or cultural groups. Clinicians delivering palliative care in such circumstances confront challenges, including the disruption of infrastructure, bias, distrust and enmity, clinician and patient safety, and abuse of health care resources by combatants. Providing palliative care despite these obstacles is a challenge that requires planning and careful execution. When successful, good provision of palliative care, even across lines of conflict, has the capacity to mitigate enmity and promote understanding.