A pediatrician at Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba was attacked on Monday by the parents of a child that was being treated at the hospital's children's clinic.
The doctor, identified as Dr. Yariv Fruchtman, was slightly injured and the parents were both arrested. Fruchtman described the incident in a video statement as a "very, very short and unpleasant event."
The parents have been identified as 24-year-old Yeruham and 28-year-old Ashbol.
The violent attack was motivated by the parents refusing to stand in line, Fruchtman explained.
"I went outside with several other doctors and I saw a young couple standing and beating on the glass windows, shouting and threatening," Fruchtman recounted. "The woman said she is 100% disabled and is entitled to not need to stand in line and should receive treatment immediately."
The couple eventually attacked him.
"They spat on me, cursed me, spat on me again. The woman tried to hit me, the guy also tried to hit me, and then they both hit me."
Dr. Yariv Fruchtman
"They spat on me, cursed me, spat on me again," Fruchtman said. "The woman tried to hit me, the guy also tried to hit me, and then they both hit me."
Security personnel and police managed to separate the parents from the doctor and arrested them. During this, the mother shouted at the security guards "Let me go, I'm pregnant! You're going to die you son of a b***h!" according to Ynet.
"We will not be silent amid acts of violence against medical workers."
Arye Deri
Israeli Health Ministry slams assault against medical workers
"We will not be silent amid acts of violence against medical workers," Health Minister Arye Deri said in a statement. "I call on law enforcement to bring the attackers to justice and to punish them so severely that these cases don't repeat themselves."
Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov said that, "Physical and verbal violence against medical workers are a serious and intolerable phenomenon and the Health Ministry will do everything possible to ensure the safety of both medical staff and patients."