Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate to Provide Medical Assistance to Palestinians As Violence Spreads to the West Bank

Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate issued a statement on Friday in support of the Palestinian people and the ongoing #FreePalestine movement.

In an announcement shared on Facebook, the syndicate stated that it supports Egypt’s decision to open the Rafah border crossing—effective Saturday May 15th, according to Sky News Arabia—and welcomes the opportunity to work with the state and the Egyptian Ministry of Health to provide medical assistance to wounded Palestinians. The syndicate also stated that Egyptian doctors and healthcare professionals will be able to volunteer to treat injured Palestinians through one of its programs and that medical aid convoys will be organized.

The syndicate’s statement condemned Israel’s policies in Palestine and its military offensive in Gaza, which has killed over 100 people and injured more than 830, and called on the international community to put an end to “Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people, support them against those who seek to displace them and loot what remains of their lands, and bring the aggressors before the International Criminal Court.”

This comes as violence escalates across Israel and Palestine, with the exchange of fire between Hamas and other Islamist militant groups and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entering its fifth day. According to BBC, Israel is ramping up its offensive operations through its air and ground forces, killing over 122 people in Gaza. Rockets fired from Gaza have claimed the lives of eight Israelis.

This latest round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians erupted following unrest in Jerusalem over the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. Violence then escalated in the Old City when Israeli police stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque and fired stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian worshippers, injuring 300 people. This came amid rising tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and police in Jerusalem.

Over the past days, the violence also spilled over into Israel, as Palestinian and Jewish Israelis clashed during protests and riots. The violence saw mobs of Palestinian and Jewish Israelis burn houses of worship and carry out public lynchings, prompting warnings of civil war after Israeli national television aired graphic footage of a Palestinian man being attacked by a mob of Jewish men in the town of Bat Yam south of Tel Aviv, according to France24.

Angry protests also erupted in cities across the West Bank on Friday. According to the BBC, Israeli forces used “teargas, rubber bullets and live fire” to disperse the protests, where some threw Molotov cocktails, in the West Bank, killing at least 10 Palestinians and injuring hundreds.