Field Update
On Monday, 31 July 2017, gunmen attacked al-Razi Hospital in Jenin and its property, threatened its medical personnel, and opened fire inside it. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) hereby condemns this attack and calls upon the Attorney General to investigate and bring the perpetrators into justice.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 17:15 on Monday, 31 July 2017, gunmen attacked an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in al-Razi Hospital in Jenin. The ambulance in question transferred a wounded police officer after having a car accident when he was on duty, chasing an illegal car in Burqin village, west of Jenin. The gunmen attacked the ambulance crew, headed to the office of Hospital’s Director, Fawaz ‘Abdul Rahman Hammad, and threatened to kill him if he did not refer the wounded police officer to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment. The gunmen raided the Emergency Department (ED) at the Hospital, opened fire around a receptionist and damaged the office contents. The gunmen beat up the medical personnel comprised of Dr. Mohammed ‘As’ous; Dr. Saleh Mahmoud; Nurse Jalal Turkman; ray technician Amjad Saba’nah; and Nurse Sahar al-Tubasi and then damaged the ED contents, including furniture and a computer. One of the gunmen put his gun to the Dr. Saleh’s head and said, “If you do not leave the hospital, you will die.” The wounded police officer was then transferred to the Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah, while the attackers left the Hospital, causing destruction in the ED. As a result, the ED stopped receiving patients for four hours. A video published throughout websites showed a gunman raiding the ED and opening fire around a receptionist in addition to other gunmen damaging the office contents.
Thus, PCHR strongly condemns this attack, which is part of the proliferation of weapons and assault to the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). PCHR also reiterates its call upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) represented by the Attorney General to open a serious investigation into this attack and bring perpetrators into justice.
