Chareidi Soldiers Perform Successful CPR On Palestinian Who Collapsed At Checkpoint

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Soldiers from the chareidi Netzach Yehuda battalion saved the life of a Palestinian resident who asked them for medical assistance moments before he collapsed. The incident took place at a checkpoint in the Binyamin region.

The Palestinian man arrived at the checkpoint Tuesday evening and told the soldiers that he was not feeling well and required medical assistance. A few seconds later he collapsed and lost consciousness. The soldiers alerted emergency medical responders but they themselves treated the Palestinian before the arrival of the responders.

Aviasaf Knafy, one of the soldiers who is a MDA volunteer and serves as an ambulance driver, rushed to the Palestinian and began to treat him together with army medics. The soldiers succeeded in restoring the man’s pulse. The Palestinian was taken in an MDA ambulance to Hadassah hospital on Har Hatzofim for further treatment.

In recent weeks the battalion has operated in the Binyamin region, performing arrests of suspects and searches for illegal weapons. On Monday night an M-16 rifle was found in Anata near Jerusalem.

Battalion commander Brigadier-General Aharon Heinman praised the soldiers, stating that the battalion “is a place for chareidi soldiers who do reserve duty and are an example of successful integration into Israeli society. The battalion is performing significant and qualitative operational tasks in the Binyamin region. The soldiers are dealing with significant challenges but are taking maximum care to ensure the security of civilians.”

The chareidi battalion recently came under criticism after an elderly Palestinian released from their custody died a few hours after his release. The Palestinian had been held for half an hour in custody after he refused to identify himself to the IDF soldiers and acted wildly. The soldiers left him lying on the floor and assumed he was sleeping but he later died of cardiac arrest. In the wake of the incident, two officers from the battalion were demoted and the commander was reprimanded.