Israeli official: Hamas lets their people have treatment in Israel, but not regular Gazans
COGAT responds to revelation that Hamas leader's daughter was treated in Tel Aviv; hospital: we don't care who the patients are.
Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, on Monday accused Hamas of a double standard for allowing the daughter of the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh to receive medical treatment in Israel.
"When there is a personal interest, Hamas has no problem in allowing patients to come into Israel," Mordechai said during an interview with the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
Mordecai criticized Hamas conduct during Operation Protective Edge, claiming that the group's leaders prevented injured Gazans from reaching the field hospital set up by Israel on the Gaza border.
The hospitalized girl is one of Haniyeh's 13 children. She suffered complications from routine treatment, was transferred to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv via the Erez Crossing, and sent back to her home last week.
"When Israel receives a request for treatment, it is not interested in the relatives of the patient, whether it's Haniyeh or some other people," said Mordecai.
"Haniyeh's daughter is one of more than the one thousand patients from the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority areas, both adults and children, that we treat each year," said Ichilov Hospital in response.
A Palestinian source told the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the treatment and transfer of the patient had been coordinated with the Palestinian Authority, and that relatives of other Palestinian officials had also been treated in Israel in the past.
Hamas has made no comment on the issue.
