This incident occurred on Erev Shabbos Chol Hamoed Sukkos in a maternity ward in Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital.

The suspect is 29-year-old Hazzam Rasaq, a resident of Anata in the eastern capital and employed in a grocery store in southern Yerushalayim. On Friday morning, he went to a branch of Shufersal where he reportedly tried stealing some items. When detected, he dropped the items taken from the supermarket shelves and fled.

Police report his next stop was the hospital, where he presented himself as a physician who was coming to check up on a patient who is admitted to the hospital’s maternity ward. Despite not wearing any garment that might support his story of being a physician, he was permitted to enter the maternity ward without showing identification. Police report then attacked one of the new mothers before fleeing, grabbing a few smartphones as he ran.

The man was arrested the following day. He admitted to stealing several phones but not to the attack in the maternity ward. He was arraigned and his remand was extended for eight days as police continue the investigation, reporting he has a criminal record.

This was the second incident in the hospital’s maternity ward in as many months. In the first incident, a reporter from Yediot Achronot was able to enter maternity ward B without being stopped by hospital security or medical personnel. The correspondent in that case made it the nursery and could have easily taken a child but she did not.

In this the latest incident Shaare Zedek they are reports he entered as a doctor while others say as a member of the security team. The hospital denies anyone was assaulted, as does the suspect, but the police statement to the media speaks of an assault against a woman. The hospital’s statement states a probe is underway and appropriate measures will be taken.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)