Israel okays medical school at West Bank university

The third vote’s a charm for a medical school at a West Bank university.

Israel’s Council for Higher Education approves the establishment of the school at Ariel University on Thursday in a 13-5 vote.

In February, the council voted against opening the school after initially approving it in July. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ordered the second vote after discovering that one of the voting members had a conflict of interest.

The mirror Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria voted in February to approve the school. The two councils have since combined.

The Ariel school is planning an October launch with 70 students. Without government accreditation, its students would not have been able to train at hospitals in Israel.

There are five other medical schools in Israel, an insufficient number to train the number of doctors needed in the country.

— JTA