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Captain Dr. Alejandro Murninkas’s yearly reserve service was unlike any other this year. On Monday morning he was paged to arrive as soon as possible to a building site outside Jerusalem. When Alenjandro arrived at the scene, he saw a Palestinian man in critical condition, unconscious and breathing shallowly. The medics, lead by Alejandro, started treating the man, until his pulse steadied and his condition was defined as stable.
Alejandro is a reserve doctor in the Paratroopers Reservists Brigade, serving every year for a limited number of days as Chief Battalion Doctor. This year he was stationed at Halamish Base, located near Ramallah—where he was called to treat his patient.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve treated Palestinian civilians, and it most certainly won’t be the last time. The person’s origins don’t matter to us. When we find a person in need of help—we always stay loyal to the Hippocratic Oath and everything it means.”
The IDF medical squads located in Judea and Samaria often assist injured Palestinians in need of help, like they assist any person, regardless of his origin, ethnicity or religion. Staff Sgt. Maya Shina, acting as a paramedic in the Jordan valley, explains:
“Many of the Palestinians in need of medical care around here knowingly prefer our treatment to the civilian first aid, such as local hospitals.”