Last night (Tuesday), defense officials attempted to transfer a Hamas terrorist to be medically treated at Hadassah hospital in the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem, but he was turned away. The hospital stated that "We have not treated and are not treating terrorists from the Swords of Iron War."
The issue of treatment of Hamas terrorists in Israeli hospitals became an issue after infuriating footage emerged from a local hospital showing a Hamas terrorist being medically treated. The documentation led to a great deal of rage on social media, leading then-Health Minister Moshe Arbel to clarify that the matter is not in his authority but rather that of the defense forces.
The minister even sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, writing that “In this difficult hour, the health system needs to focus fully on treating the victims of the criminal massacre, IDF soldiers, and prepare for the future. The mission of securing and handling the cursed and detested terrorists as part of the public health system significantly harms these efforts and therefore, at my instruction, the public health system will not treat them.”
He ended by saying: “Handling of the matter needs to be in the hands of the IDF or the Prison Service and of course the Health Ministry is ready and waiting to help these bodies, as much as it takes. I request your immediate guidance as to embedding this instruction among all aforementioned bodies.”
The state subsequently decided last week to establish a temporary hospital for terrorists in Teiman Field, according to Channel 12 news interpreter Amit Segal.