Following the shooting and apprehension of a Palestinian terrorist at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint northwest of Hebron in Judea on Tuesday, the terrorist attempted to seize the weapon of a female soldier who had been accompanying him to the hospital.
The soldier prevented the terrorist from gaining control of her rifle and together with the other soldiers subdued him once again.
The terrorist received initial treatment at the hospital, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, and was then handed over to security forces to be taken to a detention facility.
The incident took place at Shaare Zedek’s ambulance bay. According to a statement issued by the hospital, Shaare Zedek’s security team identified the serious event and assisted in subduing the terrorist.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said following the incident: “Yesterday, IDF forces identified a suspect in the area of the Tarqumiyah checkpoint and detained him. After interrogating the suspect, it was revealed that he intended to carry out a stabbing attack. During his arrest, the suspect resisted, and the soldiers responded with gunfire.
“While receiving medical treatment for the gunshot wound, the terrorist attempted to grab a weapon from the military force accompanying him, but the force successfully prevented it.”
Since the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, the issue of granting medical care to the detained terrorists of the Nukhba Force—the elite Hamas unit that spearheaded the massacres a year ago—has been a source of debate in Israel. The controversy has caused clashes between protesters and police inside and outside the hospitals treating the terrorists.
Another terrorist being treated by an Israel hospital was part of the gang that murdered Matan Elmaleh, 26, from Ma’ale Adumim, and wounded six others in February.
The terrorist has been in a vegetative state at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem ever since, despite efforts by police and the hospital to have him removed. The military court ordered his family to pay a transport fee of 20,000 shekels (about $5,300). The family refuses to pay, and so the terrorist remains in the hospital.
In May, a Hamas terrorist from the Nukhba Force received pelvic surgery at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital after he was initially refused treatment due to lack of proper planning on behalf of the security establishment.
In April, a Hamas terrorist was transferred from Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus in the capital to Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod after protesters swarmed the Jerusalem hospital.
The previous health minister, Moshe Arbel, instructed all public hospitals in October 2023 to stop treating Hamas terrorists, but that rule has been suspended.
At the same time, the military detention center in Sde Teman, which was set up to house Hamas terrorists after the Oct. 7 massacres, is also responsible for the medical treatment of terrorists and has treated dozens since the war began.
