Palestinian Minister in 1st Visit to Jerusalem Israeli Hospital

Palestinian health minister Hani Abdeen on Sunday paid a visit to the Hadassah hospital in west Jerusalem, the first visit by a Palestinian minister to Israel's largest medical facility, it said in a statement.

Accompanied by a delegation of senior Palestinian officials, Abdeen met Dr. Yuval Weiss, director of Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, and distributed gifts to Palestinian patients.

Abdeen spoke of the importance of increasing the cadre of Palestinian medical staff, which would cut the high payments currently made by Palestinians to Israeli and Jordanian hospitals.

"Hadassah considers cooperation with its Palestinian neighbors a high priority," Weiss said. "Medicine is a bridge to peace. Borders don't exist when it comes to caring for people."