Settlers on the West Bank have complained to Health Minister Eliezer Shostak that the Magan David Adom, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross, does not operate officially in the occupied territories. Shostak said he was surprised.
According to the settlers there are no Magen David Adom ambulance stations on the West Bank. When ambulances are needed they must be summoned from Israel proper, they said. “It’s the first time I’ve heard there were any problems,” Shostak declared.
Mordechai Degani, chairman of the Magen David Adom, explained that his organization was not allowed to operate in the occupied territories because it is bound by international laws and conventions governing fund-raising activities in the U.S. and elsewhere which limit where it can function. He said the Israeli charter granted the organization stipulated that it could be active only in areas where Israeli law applies.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
