Syrian civil war edges closer to Israel

Syrian border area

Over the weekend we learned that 7 Syrian fighters who were injured near the border with Israel were first treated by IDF personnel and then taken for further treatment in hospital in Israel Ziv Hospital

“An IDF force administered medical care to the wounded men near the border fence and they were taken for further treatment,” a statement said.

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The IDF stressed Saturday that the incident should not be regarded a precedent. It was “an isolated event that does not signal any change in policy,” a military source told Ynet.

The policy is not to allow any breach of the fence, “with the exception of special humanitarian cases,” he added.

It remains unclear whether the seven were rebels who took part in the battles or innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

They had made their own way across the demilitarized zone to the border fence. A Golani patrol detected them and quickly noticed they were wounded and seeking help. Army medics were called to the scene and administered initial care. Senior officers then debated whether to arrange transport to a hospital in Israel.

It should be noted that the seven did not enter Israel through the official Quneitra crossing and their arrival was not coordinated with the UN force in the area or the Red Cross. It was ultimately decided not to leave them in such condition and arrange their transport to a hospital.

It remains unclear when they will be returned to Syria. In the past, Syrians caught near the fence and taken for questioning in Israel were returned within a few days.

The IDF is currently completing the construction of a new border fence.

Following this border event, the IDF is reportedly going to build a field hospital on the Syrian border to treat Syrians injured in the fighting:

The IDF is reportedly preparing to erect a field hospital near Israel’s border with Syrian border on the Golan Heights in order to treat Syrian nationals wounding in the ongoing fighting and attempting to cross into Israel for medical assistance.

The decision to set up the hospital was taken two days after Israeli troops — in an unprecedented move in the two-year Syrian civil war — evacuated seven wounded Syrian refugees to an Israeli hospital after they had approached the border and appealed for help.

According to the plan, reported by Channel 10 on Monday night, the makeshift hospital will be set up close to the border in the central Golan Heights or near the Quneitra border crossing with Syria. The logic behind the move, the report said, was for Israel to be prepared to meet further possible medical pleas from additional Syrian refugees without having to take them for treatment inside Israeli territory.

The IDF reportedly expects that after Saturday’s incident, Syrian refugees will flock to Israel for sanctuary from the bloody civil war that has wracked Syria for two years and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said it could not confirm the authenticity of the report. There were no details of when the hospital would be established, its size, or its precise intended location.

This could open up a whole new slew of problems for Israel, as the ToI report continues:

The United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention requires that “anyone who crosses an international border and believes his life to be in danger in his country of origin must be given access to an asylum process,” Sharon Harel, assistant protection officer at the Israel office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told The Times of Israel Sunday.

The convention, and Israeli law, forbid the government from forcibly repatriating asylum-seekers, Harel said. That would apply even to citizens of an enemy state like Syria.

Is there any other country in the world who would build a hospital on its border to treat its enemies, even those who are injured in another unrelated war?

We are either the craziest people in the world or the most humane. Or possibly both.