As reported by Arutz Sheva news site as well as other Israeli news sites, Magen David Adom (MDA) Director-General Eli Bin sent a letter informing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that should the government not transfer the budget decided upon by the government to the ambulance agency, MDA would have to stop life-saving services in Judea and Samaria.

According to the letter sent more than a week ago, Bin said that: “The fiscal year is ending and this absurd situation of uncertainty creates an arrears of close to 13 million shekels in MDA’s purse, of which 5.5 million shekels is for the year 2016.”

Due to the failure to transfer the allocated funds, MDA decided to reduce their activity in Judea and Samaria. However, former Health Minister Yaakov Litzman requested to delay the reduction in light of the security situation, a request that was granted for a time.

Director Bin continued in his letter and said: “As noted, so far, we have refrained from harming vital services. But in order to minimize worsening of the budget deficit, I see no other choice but to stop MDA services in the Judea and Samaria area until the issue is settled.”

“I request from your honor in every possible way to impose on any relevant authority the handling of the matter without delay,” Bin requested of the Prime Minister who currently also serves as Health Minister since Litzman’s resignation.

Following the publishing of this story, the directorship of United Hatzalah met and issued a directive to its volunteers to increase their coverage of these areas in order to prevent a loss of life. In addition, United Hatzalah announced that it will be repositioning numerous ambulances to take up positions in Judea and Samaria in order to help provide coverage and allow for transport of injured or ill people to the hospital should a transport be needed.

United Hatzalah Founder and President Eli Beer said: “We have learned from various media publications that due to a conflict over a budget, MDA is threatening to halt its services in Judea and Samaria and that this situation may cause a loss of life. Therefore, we have raised the alert level of our volunteers all over Judea and Samaria to its highest level. Similarly, we are repositioning some of our ambulances to cover parts of Judea and Samaria so that they can provide transport to the hospital for those injured and sick who need it.”

Beer further elucidated his organization’s commitment to the people of Judea and Samaria. “The organization believes that helping the residents of these areas is of the utmost importance. Like all of our operations, our services in Judea and Samaria will be accomplished by our volunteers and will be free of charge. United Hatzalah’s 4,000 volunteers are spread all across Israel with the goal of arriving at the scene of any medical emergency in under three minutes. All of our services are free of charge and our only mission is to save lives. If there are any doctors or paramedics in the area who wish to volunteer with United Hatzalah, they are welcome to contact the organization via its website.”