EU official lauds Israel for treating injured Syrians

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A European Union official based in Israel praised the Jewish state for providing medical treatment to Syrian civilians injured in their country’s civil war.

EU Ambassador-designate Lars Faaborg-Andersen on Wednesday visited the Ziv Medical Center in Safed to see the care being provided to the injured Syrians. More than 300 Syrians have been brought to Israel for treatment since the civil war began about 2 1/2 years ago.

“I was deeply impressed by the dedication of the medical staff that is sparing no effort to provide the injured patients, many of them children, with the best possible medical care,” Faaborg-Andersen said in a statement. “This commitment to the welfare of other human beings, regardless of the fact that they belong to an enemy nation, should be a source of pride to all Israelis.”

Earlier this month, a 20-year-old woman became the first Syrian civilian fleeing the civil war to give birth in Israel, according to reports.