Israeli nurses strike over violence against medical staff

The nurses demand the immediate implementation of a government plan to eradicate violence against them in hospitals, said a statement issued by the INA on Wednesday. 

"This is a serious situation for years, in which the state abandons the nurses without any means of protection against the incessant violence in the health system," said Ilana Cohen, INA Chairperson. 

"It is very sad that those who are on the medical front for everyone day and night, including the fight against the coronavirus, do not get the basic right to return home safely," she added. 

"Every incident of violence is like a terrorist attack and must be addressed accordingly," Cohen said. 

The nurses warned that if the violence continues, they will go on another strike, Xinhua news agency reported. 

Arnon Bar-David, Chairman of the Histadrut, Israel's largest workers union, sent a letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, demanding an urgent discussion on the issue. 

"Those who pay for the violence are not only victims in the workplace but Israeli society as a whole," he wrote.