A nurse is in a moderate but stable condition after she was stabbed by a patient at the Shmuel Ha’Rofe Hospital in the central Israel town of Beer Yaakov on Monday evening.
The suspect, an asylum seeker from Eritrea in his thirties who was a patient at the hospital, was arrested and taken in for questioning by police.
In response to the attack, chair of the nurses’ union, Ilana Cohen, called for a strike to take place on Wednesday.
“We must put an end to violence in the health system,” Cohen said. “We will shut down the entire system on Wednesday to say clearly – enough violence!”
The Ministry of Health said that it strongly condemned the violence and ordered that security be increased at health institutions.
“We are committed to the safety and security of the treatment teams, and we will work with the police and the Public Security Ministry to ensure that such cases do not recur,” said Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.
The attack comes the day after a woman was given a sentence of five months of community service for multiple cases of assault, including against hospital security guards.
During the sentencing the judge noted that “violence against medical staff and security guards has become widespread and it is incumbent on the court to protect medical staff.”
Source: Times of Israel
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