Israel supplies 1 ventilator, 50 tests to East Jerusalem hospital's virus unit

St Joseph Hospital says Health Ministry asked it to prepare to accept Palestinian patients, but then failed to pay half of the money it pledged

Israel’s Health Ministry has reportedly provided a single ventilator, 2,000 face masks and just 50 testing kits to an East Jerusalem hospital’s coronavirus unit for Palestinians, and paid out only half of the sum it pledged to help finance the medical project.

The Catholic St. Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem also received a donation of three ventilators from the Vatican, and two from Christian organizations, according to the Catholic News Service.

But medical staff at the hospital were warning they would deplete their face mask supply in two weeks and were down to their last four coronavirus swabs. According to the report, the Health Ministry pledged $563,000 to the virus unit, but has only paid half of that sum.

The report said the East Jerusalem hospital opened the virus unit at the Health Ministry’s request.

Magen David Adom medical workers seen at a drive-through site to collect samples for coronavirus testing, at the entrance to the East Jerusalem village of Jabel Mukaber, on April 2, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The United States has pledged $5 million to Palestinian hospitals and households, without naming the beneficiaries, months after cutting off all aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Jerusalem is home to half a dozen other general hospitals serving residents of both the eastern and western sides of the city. The coronavirus ward at St Joseph’s was set up to admit Palestinians who are not residents of Jerusalem and therefore do not have that access.

An Israeli firefighter disinfects the entrance to St Joseph hospital in East Jerusalem on April 16, 2020, as preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

While the capital has seen the most cases in Israel, 2,341 as of Thursday, most were said to be residents of ultra-Orthodox areas. East Jerusalem has thus far apparently been spared the worst of the pandemic, but health officials warned that the upcoming Ramadan holiday over the next month could increase the spread.

The Palestinians have reported 480 cases overall, including East Jerusalem — which they view as the capital of their future state — in that tally. Israel views Jerusalem as its undivided capital since the capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.