Arab Israeli nurses pose for pic with Hamas prisoner, say sorry, won’t be fired
Hospital says the two nurses understand severity of posing with Miqdad Qawasmeh, who has been on hunger strike for over 80 days to protest being held without trial
Two Arab Israeli nurses who posed hugging a hunger-striking Hamas prisoner at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot won’t be fired after they expressed regret for their actions, the hospital said Monday.
The two were filmed on Sunday posing with Miqdad Qawasmeh, a Hamas member who has served sentences in Israeli prison in the past and is currently being held in administrative detention, without being charged.
In the video, the two can be seen clasping Qawasmeh’s hands and hugging him, before posing,
The nurses were summoned for a disciplinary hearing in the hospital and were dressed down over the incident. The hospital said they understood the severity of their actions and expressed regret.
Israeli authorities had not placed Qawasmeh under guard due to his weakened condition.
The International Red Cross last week expressed concern for Qawasmeh’s and another prisoner’s wellbeing, saying that there were concerns “about potentially irreversible consequences of such prolonged hunger strike to their health and life.”
שני אחים בבית החולים קפלן ברחובות הצטלמו יחד עם אסיר חמאס מיקדאד קוואסמה. קוואסמה, השובת רעב ומאושפז בבית החולים, שהה כמה שנים בכלא ונמצא כעת במעצר מנהלי. מבית החולים נמסר: "בודקים את הנושא מול העובדים"@hadasgrinberg @HaimOmri pic.twitter.com/PlOmb8BX8Y
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 11, 2021
Monday marked the 82nd day of Qawasmeh’s hunger strike — a protest over his extended incarceration without trial.
The other prisoner Kayed Nammoura is approaching his 90th day. Five other Palestinian detainees are also on hunger strike.
Several Palestinians have won freedom through hunger strikes in recent years from being held in administrative detention, a controversial Israeli policy in which it holds suspects without charge for months at a time.
