Ministers advance motion upping punishment for attacks on health staff

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation gives an initial okay to a proposal to stiffen the punishment for assaults on medical staff, after several such cases made headlines recently.

The motion, proposed by Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, would increase the maximum punishment for attacks on medical staff on duty from the current three years in jail to five years.

The proposal includes first-aid personnel and paramedics, unlike today’s law which only applies to some medical teams. Also, the proposal would apply to attacks occurring during any medical treatment, whereas the current law only applies to assaults taking place during life-saving or emergency treatments.

The motion still needs to pass three Knesset votes to become law.