Israeli doctor dismisses over giving sweet to wounded Palestinian boy

The Israeli Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem dismissed Ahmad Mahajna on Sunday, following a weeks-long probe, a family member has said.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has slammed the termination as the result of "racist, nationalist, and populist witch hunt".

Dr. Ahmad Mahajna, a dedicated and valued cardiothoracic resident at Hadassah Hospital, recently became the victim of a racist, nationalist, and populist witch hunt.

The probe was launched in late October after medical staff held a party in the hospital and gave leftover refreshments to all the patients in the hospital.

Among them was a 16-year-old Palestinian in police custody, who Mahajna and two other hospital staff gave some of the snacks to.

The boy was being treated for wounds he sustained after being shot by the Israeli police for allegedly stabbing an Israeli man in Jerusalem days earlier.

The officers securing the patient complained to the hospital management who then issued a statement depicting Mahajna as a "terrorist sympathizer" and called him in for a hearing, according to PHR.

"Letters of support from patients and colleagues, all describing him as a caring and dedicated physician, proved useless," PHR said on Twitter as Mahajna was officially dismissed on Sunday.

Ahmad, whose family was forcibly displaced to Umm al-Fahm in 1948, completed his medical studies at Germany’s Ulm University.

He returned to work in Israeli hospitals where Palestinian citizens have long complained of discriminatory treatment despite occupying almost 21 percent of physician jobs and 23 percent of nursing jobs in Israel.