SHA’AR BINYAMIN, Israel (Press Release) – This Thursday, the One Israel Fund held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Binyamin Medical Center (BMC), the first major medical facility in Samaria. The BMC will address an unmet need for medical care for the more 75,000 Israelis living in 45 communities in the Binyamin region, and for tens of thousands of Arab residents in the area.
Binyamin is the largest regional council in Israel by geographic size but the present medical services available are severely limited in scope, with residents in need of emergency services forced to travel 30-90 minutes into Jerusalem to obtain care. The multi-million-dollar Binyamin Medical Center – one of the largest projects ever developed in Samaria – will provide life-saving emergency medical services along with primary care, advanced imaging services, a versatile surgical wing, and access to a full range of medical specialists, including neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, and oncology.
“The Binyamin Medical Center will have a transformative impact on the Binyamin region, bringing life-saving medical care and peace of mind to residents who now live with the fear and uncertainty of not knowing whether they will be able to reach a hospital in the event of an emergency,” said Rabbi David Marcus, Senior Development Officer of the One Israel Fund, who is overseeing the development of the center. “The Center will improve the region’s security and quality of life.”
Israeli leaders attending the groundbreaking ceremony included Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein and Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz.
During the ceremony, Minister Steinitz said, “This center is only a beginning, it is the nucleus for the establishment of a hospital in the future. There will be a hospital here. I am now preparing master plans for the water sector for years ahead, which take into account a million settlers in Judea and Samaria. I hope that a maternity ward will be the hospital’s largest ward standing here in the future.”
The BMC is designed to provide state-of-the-art medical care for all residents of the area, Jews and Arabs alike, bringing together two populations that rarely share common space and services.
“The Binyamin Medical Center will carry out One Israel Fund’s humanitarian mission to provide quality medical care and save lives, regardless of who walks through our doors. This is a place where steps toward coexistence can be advanced,” said Rabbi Marcus. “Access to quality emergency care will benefit all of the residents of the Binyamin Region, Palestinian and Israeli alike.”
The BMC was designed to include a range of features to address the unique needs of the area’s Arab population, including an augmented Dialysis Center to treat kidney disease. It is estimated that the Palestinian population has one of the highest rate of kidney failure in the world, but many have limited access to this life-saving medical care.
The Binyamin Medical Center is a joint venture of the One Israel Fund and Binyamin Regional Council, developed in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Health.
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Preceding provided by One Israel Fund