Israeli hospital director addresses al-Sharaa: We treated your soldiers... so how can you accuse the Druze of treason?

Dr. Salman Zarqa, director of the Israeli Ziv Hospital in Safed, sharply criticized the head of the Syrian transitional government, Ahmad al-Sharaa, for describing the Druze as "traitors." The remarks came during a protest held by the Golan Medical Association on Saturday along the ceasefire line.

In a speech, Zarqa said: "More than ten years ago, I was the director of the military field hospital at Point 105 near the village of Jubata al-Khashab on the Syrian border, and we saved the lives of many Syrians. If we didn't save your life personally, perhaps we saved one of your relatives or soldiers."

Addressing Sharaa, he added, "You were among the first to request our assistance, and perhaps you didn't know that the hospital's commanding officer and his staff were Druze. How dare you today describe them as traitors? Stand up and tell the Syrians the truth: You asked for aid and received it, and every human being has the right to receive the necessary treatment to save their life."

Zarqa's statement came within the context of the controversy surrounding Israel's support for Syrian opposition fighters during the war, including providing treatment to members of the al-Nusra Front in its hospitals.

Israeli and international media reports documented these operations, while media figures close to the government later justified them as being carried out for humanitarian reasons.

According to Agence France-Presse, Israeli military figures indicate that more than 3,100 wounded Syrians received treatment in Israel between 2013 and 2017.

Sh-S

ANHA