Thursday, March 01, 2012

Those Terrible Israeli Doctors; Such Chutzpah !

Nadene Goldfoot
The Israeli doctors have a lot of nerve.  PA Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli and director Ahmed Bitawi also are pretty nervy.  They all toured the Palestine Medical Compound in Ramallah causing an Arab protest.  Ramallah, only 6 miles north of Jerusalem,  used to be a Christian city but is now mostly all Muslim and serves as the capital of Fatah's PA with about 25,500 population. 

How dare they all visit!  Doctors and nurses in the compound were instructed to meet these 3 Israeli doctors!  It amounts to fraternizing with the enemy, they seemed to think, and complained that it was a form of normalizsation with Israel which they are opposed to. 

Against the doctors' visit was Fatah's Dr. Mutasem Muhaisen who described the idea to host the Israeli team of doctors as "irresponsible.  It was an offense to the memory of Palestinian martyrs who died in clashes with IDF soldiers over the past 20 years, he complained.  The accusation was made that the doctors weren't doctors but IDF officers and soldiers.  Abu Mughli knew the truth that they were in fact, simply doctors.  Mughli also reminded people that patients were being transferred to Israeli hospitals on a regular basis.  Probably they are sent to Ashkelon's hospital. 

Mughli also stated that the PA was ready to provide medical services to Israelis, and at least he isn't against meeting with Israeli doctors.  Bitawi also said that this was a part of coooperation between Israelis and Palestinianss in the medical field and that for doctors this is not a political issue but a humanitarian mission. 

However, back in the Gaza Strip, Basem Naim, Minister of Health in the Hamas government, had a fit and claimed it was part of security coordination between Israel and the PA (Fatah).  I can see that Hamas and Fatah are getting along just fine. 

Small steps.  Just a few doctors were amiable to fraternizing with Israeli doctors, but it's a start in the right direction.  Now, if only they could work on the killers who keep shooting at Israelis.  That would be a giant step for mankind.  I guess it depends on their goals; help patients to live and be well or to kill Israelis.  I see what most want.

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah
http://www.jpost.com/ Diplomacy & Politics

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