Amid continuing turmoil in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli security forces inside a hospital in Hebron in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Soldiers entered the Al Ahli Hospital undercover – with one soldier allegedly pretending to be a pregnant woman requiring care – in order to question and detain Azzam Shalaldeh, who was being treated there. The soldiers shot and killed his cousin, 27 year-old Abdulla Shalaldah, five times when he entered the room where they had reportedly handcuffed Azzam, who they then took into custody as they left.
This is the latest in a series of raids on Palestinian hospitals by Israeli forces, coming after Al Mekassed hospital in Jerusalem was raided twice by soldiers demanding that staff hand over the medical notes of patients who had been treated there. In a later incident, teargas and other projectiles were fired by soldiers inside the hospital compound during a peaceful protest against the raids by hospital staff.
Reacting to yesterday’s incident, MAP CEO Tony Laurance said: “This dreadful attack is another disgraceful violation of individual rights and international law. Coming after a string of incursions into Palestinian hospitals, it shows wanton disregard for the protected status of hospitals and medical personnel. These incidents must be investigated and those responsible held to account.”
The current violence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza has so far claimed the lives of 78 Palestinians and 12 Israelis since the start of October. Over 9,500 Palestinians have also been injured, many due to Israeli forces’ use of teargas, live ammunition and rubber bullets against protesters.
This weekend, MAP will be attending the Medact ‘Health through Peace’ conference in London. Here we will join frontline health workers, health experts and other NGOs in supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross’ #ProtectHealthcare campaign, calling for the protection of medical facilities and personnel around the world. You can read our report on attacks on medical infrastructure and healthcare staff during the 2014 assault on Gaza here.