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Israel Should Build Field Hospital On the Golan Border

When the IDF assisted seven wounded Syrian rebels who reached the Israeli border, it was a one-time event, but Shlomi Eldar suggests that Israel open a field hospital to plant the seeds of reconciliation.
Israeli soldiers patrol in the Syrian-Israeli ceasefire line near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights March 30, 2012. Israel deployed thousands of extra security forces nationwide on Friday, reinforcing border crossings with Lebanon and Syria and shutting crossings with the occupied West Bank after Palestinian groups announced plans to march on Israel's borders on a day when Israeli Arabs mark "Land Day", the annual commemorations in Israel of the killing by police of six Arab citizens in
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For the past few months, the sound of explosions echoing from across the Syrian border had become an integral part of the lives of Israelis living in the north. Yet, the battles waged by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his army against the rebels were no more than a distant rumor — until last Saturday that is,  when they took on a human face.

On that Saturday, February 16, seven wounded Syrians mustered their last bit of strength and made it to that border. They were apparently rebels, taking part in the fight against Assad’s army. One of them was in critical condition; the rest were moderately wounded. They had been injured by bullets and shrapnel, and nothing seemed to stop their bleeding. It was a question of life and death, so the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the area decided to give them on-the-spot medical care. The wounded rebels were then evacuated to Ziv Hospital in Safed for further treatment.

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