Palestinian victims of bitter Gaza fighting between Fatah and Hamas loyalists are being given medical care at the hands of their traditional enemy – Israel.
A total of 10 people wounded in fighting have come to Israel for treatment, including eight recovering at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. The southern coastal city is just five kilometers (3 miles) from the fenced Gaza Strip, where 31 people have been killed and more than 230 wounded in five days of the most recent factional fighting.
While thankful for their treatment, Palestinians recovering in Barzilai have still found it hard to accept that Israeli doctors are healing their wounds.
“It feels strange,” said Abdullah Shalayil, 26, a policeman whose body was riddled with bullets during a gunbattle with Hamas loyalists. “Why is this happening to our people?”
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“The hospital in Gaza I was staying in wasn’t safe. There was fighting … next to the hospital. There were even fights inside the hospital. We could have been shot,” said Tawfik Ladu, a 23-year-old accountant.
Khaled Radi, spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry, said local doctors send the most serious cases to Israel, where medical care is far more advanced. The names are forwarded to Israeli authorities, who must give final approval for the wounded to enter.
Palestinians are blessed with a enemy who will show compassion no matter how many citizens they lose through bomb blasts.
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