West Bank medics given bulletproof vests after ‘rise in attacks by Israeli forces’

Palestine Red Crescent Society says there were 193 incidents targeting healthcare staff and vehicles in 2023

Medics working in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are being supplied with helmets and bulletproof vests after the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported what it said was a rise in attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers.

According to the PRCS, there were 193 incidents targeting staff and vehicles in 2023 - a 310% increase compared with the same period last year. Violence has been increasing steadily in the region since March 2022, when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began launching near-nightly raids on the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin in response to a spate of deadly terror attacks against Israelis.