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Israel's Hadassah Hospital in Negotiations to Open in Dubai

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed signing the normalisation agreement in Washington, DC on 15 September (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed signing the normalisation agreement in Washington, DC on 15 September (AFP)
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Israel's Hadassah Hospital in Negotiations to Open in Dubai

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed signing the normalisation agreement in Washington, DC on 15 September (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed signing the normalisation agreement in Washington, DC on 15 September (AFP)

Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center, in West Jerusalem, is in talks with UAE officials to open a hospital in Dubai, announced the hospital’s head.

Political sources said that the director of the Hadassah Hospital, Zeev Rotstein, held several meetings with the UAE officials during his visit to Dubai last week, noting there is a desire for cooperation and exchange of experiences between the medical experts.

Rotstein hailed the offer to build a hospital in Dubai, but stressed negotiations were still at an early stage, describing it as “a revolution — to establish Hadassah Hospital as a medical power in the United Arab Emirates.”

He indicated that he would form a team to study the details of the proposal and provide suggestions on their implementation, including the exchange of doctors and researchers between Dubai and Jerusalem.

The Hadassah hospital is affiliated with the Hadassah organization, and is known as one of Israel’s best hospitals.

However, in recent years the medical center has been facing financial troubles, which were heightened during the coronavirus pandemic.

The hospital wrote a letter to the Israeli Finance and Health ministries on behalf of public hospitals, announcing there was a financial crisis in all public medical facilities, including Hadassah.

Meanwhile, sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry reported that hundreds of Israeli businessmen and journalists have been in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, since the peace treaty was signed in mid-last month, except for politicians.

Although several deals, including political agreements, have been signed, no Israeli minister has entered the UAE, following a ban from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu informed the ministers who requested approval for their travel in order to advance relations, that he wants to be the first official to visit the UAE.

The directive came after several ministers showed interest in traveling to Abu Dhabi following the normalization deal, reported the Walla news site, citing three political resources. However, Netanyahu used his veto power and requested that such visiting programs be suspended until further notice.

Two weeks ago, Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to meet in the near future.

The conversation was the first between the two since the agreement to normalize ties between the states was announced on August 13, and they agreed to meet “soon.”

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.