JERUSALEM (AP) Israel and the Gaza Strip are bound by much more than enmity: Israel controls nearly everything that comes in and out of the territory, including food and energy, and sometimes allows Gazans to enter the country for medical care.
But following a bloody 50-day war over the summer, a decision to allow the daughter of Hamas Prime Minister to receive care at an Israeli hospital is proving to be too much for some Israelis. The treatment of Ismail Haniyeh’s daughter has sparked a debate over whether Israel’s stated commitment to providing humanitarian aid should be extended to its bitterest enemies.
Haniyeh is one of Israel’s greatest foes. He frequently calls for Israel’s destruction in fiery sermons and drew international criticism for praising Osama bin Laden as a “martyr” after he was killed by the U.S. in 2011.
Haniyeh’s daughter “shouldn’t have been treated,” commentator Avishai Ivri said on the Army Radio station Tuesday. “She should have been arrested for war crimes.”
Few details of the case have been made public. Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital confirmed this week that a daughter of Haniyeh was treated for “a number of days” earlier this month. It gave no details on her condition, or even her name or age.
But many Israeli commentators defended the decision to treat the daughter in ethical terms.
“I think the state of Israel, in line with the values it espouses, has an obligation to assist people in need, to provide them help,” said Nachman Shai, an opposition lawmaker and former chief spokesman for the Israeli military. He said that while it was possible Israel might have used the case for public relations gain, it nonetheless did the right thing.
Israelis often portray their country as a rare bright spot in a dark region. The nation’s leaders proudly describe it as the Middle East’s only democracy and routinely call Israel’s military “the most moral army in the world.”
But this image has taken a beating in recent years as the country comes under growing international criticism for its continued control over millions of Palestinians and its settlement policies in the West Bank. It faced a stiff test during the summer war, in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of civilians, according to U.N. figures. The U.N.’s Human Rights Council is now investigating whether Israel’s military may have committed war crimes during the fighting.
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