Defense Ministry says it is fast-tracking recognition of disabled veterans

The Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department and the Disabled Veterans Association say 1,210 troops from the Israel Defense Forces and security forces are newly under the care of the department since October 7, when Hamas launched its devastating attack on Israel.

The vast majority of them have been released from hospital, the statement says.

In a joint announcement, the two organizations say that 329 people have been recognized as disabled in a fast-tracked procedure — 88 percent of them on the day that the requests were submitted.

The figures do not include conscripted soldiers, but only reservists, career soldiers, police, Shin Bet agents, etc.

The statement says that the Defense Ministry has expedited the process for those recognized as wounded and their families to receive financial assistance.

The Defense Ministry’s treatment of wounded veterans has come under intense scrutiny since IDF veteran Itzik Saidyan self-immolated outside the Petah Tikva offices of the Rehabilitation Department, in a case that attracted national attention to the plight of military veterans traumatized by events that happened during their military service.