JERUSALEM POST: French mum on hospital shielding terrorists

A US Jewish group is urging the government of France to "exercise its responsibilities under international law" following the arrest of two Palestinian terrorists at a French-protected hospital in Bethlehem.

On Tuesday, Adnan Abiat and Ratan Ali Hasan Nabhan, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade members who, according to Israel, hid in the hospital for months and are responsible for the murder of eight Israelis, were arrested at the Holy Family Maternity Hospital in Bethlehem, which is operated by the French Association of the Order of Malta. A weapons cache found on hospital premises was also seized.

While France has long been critical of Israel's counter-terror efforts and questioned its adherence to international law, officials at the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry said that the arrests – and the French government's silence on the issue - highlight France's refusal to practice what it preaches.

In a press release issued Thursday, the organization noted that while hospitals enjoy safeguards under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Part II, Article 19 of the convention notes that "The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy."