The Israel Medical Association announced on Tuesday that it would hold a one-day strike in all hospitals and health maintenance organizations on Thursday, in protest against a number of recent attacks against medical staff, the most recent of which took place on Monday night at Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.
Due to the strike, the hospitals on Thursday will work on a Shabbat schedule and only life-saving procedures will be carried out.
The Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, said in response, "We must eradicate the violence against them using all the tools at our disposal and we will do so. I strengthen the doctors and medical staff who work day and night for the health of all human beings, and call for the attackers to be brought to justice."
The announcement comes a day after family members of a patient who was evacuated in critical condition to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem rioted in the intensive care unit after being notified of his death.
Dozens of family members of the victim, residents of eastern Jerusalem, broke doors and windows, destroyed the nurses' stand and beat the staff members.
Hospital security guards and police officers who were called to the scene were able to restore order. Two medical personnel suffered light injuries and were treated in the hospital emergency room.