Man arrested for assaulting doctor at southern Israel hospital

A man was arrested Sunday for attacking a doctor at the Soroka medical center in the southern city of Beersheba, the Israel Police said in a statement.

The man, 19, from the Bedouin city of Rahat, was a patient in the emergency department. He physically and verbally assaulted the doctor, according to Hebrew media reports, which said that members of his family also caused a disturbance during the incident.

Security staff at the hospital intervened to prevent an escalation and summoned police officers, who arrested the suspect. He was taken away for questioning.

“Soroka’s management takes a very serious view of aggressive and violent behavior towards employees and care teams at the hospital and has zero tolerance on the matter,” the hospital said in a statement.

In June, public hospitals and clinics held a two-day strike in protest of violence against medical staff, following a string of incidents in the preceding months.

That strike had been prompted by a patient attacking a doctor with a crowbar at a community clinic in Be’er Yaakov, moderately injuring him.

It had been the second strike initiated by the union within a month, following a similar strike in May that was called after family members of a patient who died at a Jerusalem hospital attacked medical staff and caused significant damage to the intensive care unit after they were informed of his death.

In November last year, four people were hurt — including two who were stabbed — and 19 were arrested in a mass brawl at Soroka. Gunfire was also heard during that incident, according to witnesses. The two stabbed men were both from Rahat. No staff members were hurt in the brawl, the hospital said at the time.