Palestinian Red Crescent did not refuse to treat Israelis

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday an internal probe found staff from its Palestinian affiliate did not refuse to treat Jewish victims, following allegations two men died after not receiving care.

In November an Israeli Jewish woman claimed that medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society declined to treat her husband and her son after they were attacked near a settlement in the southern West Bank.

Both men died after being shot on November 13.

The story was widely reported in the Israeli media, leading to accusations that the Palestinian Red Crescent had failed to remain neutral. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to publicly condemn the organisation.

If accurate, a refusal to treat a patient would have represented a "grave breach of our fundamental principles," the ICRC said in a statement.

Rabbi Ya'akov Litman and his 18-year-old son Netanyel were shot dead in their car near the settlement of Otniel, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

After an investigation into the circumstances, the ICRC concluded the team had been unable to offer any help as the men were already dead.

"A two-person emergency medical team of the PRCS, responding to an emergency call, was the first team to arrive on the scene," country head Jacques de Maio said in a statement.

"None of the survivors required emergency medical assistance and tragically there was nothing more the PRCS team could do for those who had been shot and killed."

After the Israeli medical services appeared on the scene, the PRCS medics left, he added.

Source: AFP