CAIRO: The People's Assembly (PA) approved Monday a draft law to increase compensation for the families of the martyrs who died during the January uprising and subsequent clashes with security from LE 30,000 to LE 100,000 each. The draft law will be reviewed by the constitutional and legislative affairs committee before its final approval. Saad El-Hosseiny, FJP MP and head of the planning and budget committee which originally drafted the proposal, said that the PA was proud that its first piece of legislation would honor the martyrs' families. The PA also discussed a report condemning Israeli violations on occupied Palestinian territory and their threats to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque. The report said that Israel exploited the fact that Arab countries were busy dealing with internal issues to escalate its violations against Palestinians. The report also called on Palestinian factions to unite and referred to their meeting in Cairo on Feb. 18. In the second session, the PA discussed a report issued by the health committee regarding kidney failure. "About 44,000 Egyptians suffer from kidney failure," said Akram El-Shaer, head of the PA's health committee, who read out the statement. This represents 2 percent of all Egyptians suffering from various diseases. Kidney failure can be treated through Hemodialysis, kidney transplant and proton therapy, said the report. El-Shaer said the use of proton therapy was minimal in Egypt, although it has many benefits. He also called for encouraging health tourism in Egypt. Other MPs criticized the report saying that the health committee needed to specify in detail a plan that would help Egyptians overcome kidney failure and prevent it.
