Ramallah: A Palestinian health worker in the 1948 areas has been suspended from his position in a medical centre over a Facebook post accusing the Israeli military forces of committing war crimes against the children of the Gaza.
The Palestinian nurse has been working at the children’s hospital at Sheba Medical Centre at Tel Hashomer for several years.
The Israeli daily Yedoit Ahranoth quoted Zeev Rotstein, the director of the hospital, as commenting on Wednesday that “even at times of peace, not just at times of war and in defence of the home front, accusing the Israeli military forces of war crimes is unacceptable, definitely not by an employee of the State of Israel.”
The health worker’s case has been handed over to the Civil Service Commission for further disciplinary action.
Social media networks have been abuzz in recent weeks with angry posts denouncing the Israeli military forces and the case is just one of many punishments applied to public employees who use social media to express their views on the Israeli war on Gaza.
A Palestinian doctor from occupied East Jerusalem who works at the same hospital was also suspended after he posted a cartoon of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire murdering Palestinian children. Several days earlier, another health worker at Hadassah Medical Centre posted a status comparing the actions of the Israeli military forces to the atrocities committed by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The man was terminated.
Detained
Angry Palestinians have also been detained. Israeli Police and the Border Police have so far arrested a total of 931 Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem and 1948 areas. Some 636 of these detainees were from 1948 areas and the rest were from occupied East Jerusalem.
The UFree Network, an independent European-wide human rights network, has condemned an unprecedented Israeli incitement campaign against Palestinians in 1948 areas and against them working in Israel. The network said in a statement that many Arab workers have been terminated from their jobs for their views on the Israeli assault on Gaza. Those Arab workers have been fired over a ‘like’ or a ‘post’ they put on their pages on social media networks.
The allegation is that hundreds of Israelis have been monitoring the pages of Palestinians working in 1948 areas and once they find a comment that they can brand ‘anti Israeli’, they publish it and ask their Israeli employer to terminate them.
The network said that a Palestinian woman from the 1948 areas had been attacked by a group of Israeli extremist youths who filmed the attack and published it on social media. The Israeli youths accused the woman of ‘liking’ the killing of 13 Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
A Palestinian man on a train in occupied East Jerusalem was threatened with death by an Israeli passenger. The man lodged a complaint with the Israeli police, who promised to investigate but did not.
The network said that Israeli youth have repeatedly hurt Palestinians in 1948 areas by bombarding their vehicles with rocks. Physical attacks against Palestinians from 1948 areas have also been reported in public areas, such as universities and malls.
Palestinians filed complaints but there was no response from the Israeli police, which can be attributed as indirect incitement against Palestinians.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has organised a campaign to boycott all Palestinian owned stores and commercial establishments whose owners took part in the strikes organised in 1948 areas against the Israeli assault against Gaza. He has used his Facebook page to call for support for the campaign.
