Two news reports in Israel on Wednesday, both focusing on the town of Bethlehem, highlighted the irony of Israel’s complex relationship with its Arab neighbors.

Gamal Allaham,11, a resident of Bethlehem, suffered from a benign tumor in his hypothalamus which caused him to have severe seizures and uncontrollable fits of laughter, a TPS report said. Due to his seizures, Allaham was confined to his home and was unable to attend school or participate in normal childhood activities. Palestinian Authority hospitals were unable to treat his rare disorder.

Instead, Allaham received advanced brain surgery at Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv by Israeli surgeons, which cured his condition. He’s now able to attend school and live a normal life.

“Thank you very much to the Israeli doctors who brought my child back to life,” Allaham’s father said. “He no longer suffers from seizures; we got our son back. I have no words to thank the staff for the care we received, which completely changed our lives. Thank you.”

Another news article by the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday reported that a high school for girls in Bethlehem placed a plaque of honor on its walls for a Palestinian teenage suicide bomber.

In 2002, Ayyat al-Akras, 17, blew herself up near a Jerusalem supermarket, killing two Israelis and wounding 28 others. This is the “heroine” that the Bethlehem school dedicated a plaque to at its entrance and publicized in a post on its Facebook page.

The irony does not need to be spelled out.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)