Palestinian doctor doesn't regret helping Israeli victims despite death threats
Dr. Amin Mansour, who has a large clientele among Russian-speaking Israelis due to his knowledge of the language, says it's his 'duty as a physician' to treat anyone in need regardless of their background after father and son were stabbed outside his clinic
A 17-year-old Israeli teen was seriously wounded, and his 60-year-old father had been lightly hurt when a 15-year-old Palestinian allegedly approached the two near a Palestinian town of Azzun, asked whether they were Jewish, then stabbed them.
The Israelis, residents of the south, were making their way to Dr. Amin Mansour’s dental clinic in the area when the incident happened. Once the doctor noticed what was happening near his clinic, he immediately rushed to the scene to provide first aid treatment to the wounded.
"I have been a doctor for many years … It’s my duty as a physician to provide treatment for everyone, regardless of whether they are Israeli or Palestinian,” said Dr. Mansour in an interview with Ynet’s sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth. “Every person is first and foremost a human being."
"The 17-year-old boy was seriously wounded, I saved him,” said the doctor. “The Palestinian boy who stabbed him is 15 years old and both of them are victims to me. They’re just different kind of victims.”
Since the incident, social media networks have been abuzz with Palestinians accusing the doctor of “rescuing the settlers,” and even sending him death threats. Other Palestinians, however, defend the doctor, saying he himself once was jailed in an Israeli prison, a fact which Dr. Mansour doesn’t deny.
“It’s true,” he said. "I am a very well-known Fatah activist and I spent four years in prison during the Second Intifada. The threats don’t faze me."
Palestinian sources in Azzun said Dr. Mansour has a large Russian-speaking clientele due to being fluent in the Russian language. The sources said he studied dentistry at a university in Russia and managed to forge close ties with Israelis from Soviet bloc countries.
"I was prepared to visit the wounded in the hospital. They are my patients, and I have known them for many years, but I do not have a permit to enter Israel," the doctor added.
