Israel to place permanent policing in hospitals

Tel Aviv, May 30 Israel will set up permanent police stations in all public hospitals following a recent wave of nationwide violence against medical staff.

The Ministry of Finance said it has approved the budget needed for placing police officers in all emergency rooms at a total of 19 million shekels ($5 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

The change is one of the demands made by the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), which represents about 95 per cent of the doctors in the country.

Earlier this month, the IMA went on a 24-hour warning strike after a serious incident took place at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

Dozens of family members of a patient who died at the hospital attacked the medical staff and vandalized the place, local media reported.

"Violence in hospitals cannot be tolerated," said Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

"Recent incidents have proven that we can not allow medical staff to work without protection."