The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank has called for international intervention to halt Israel’s attacks on the healthcare system after Israeli forces raided a hospital in Nablus and arrested an injured patient.
The ministry on Wednesday issued a statement calling the raid “a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions that stipulate the protection of treatment centres and patients”.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa said the man, whom it identified as Ayman Ghanem, was arrested at the Arab Specialized Hospital on Wednesday after being targeted by a drone attack near Tubas the day before.
Israeli authorities confirmed having apprehended a Palestinian at a hospital in Nablus. The Israeli military said the attack that injured him also killed three others.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli police accused him of being “the third member of a terrorist cell that carried out the shooting attack” at Mehola Junction in August, in which an Israeli was killed.
They also accused him of planning to carry out further attacks and posing “an imminent threat to Israeli civilians”.
The Palestinian Health Ministry called on “international institutions” and the Red Cross to “intervene immediately to stop the occupation’s attacks on treatment centres and staff, demanding immediate protection for the health system and all its components”.
The Israeli statement said “the security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to thwart terrorism in the area and to maintain the safety of Israeli civilians”.
Aljazeera
