This week – following Secretary of State Kerry’s visit to the Middle East to try and restart a long-stalled peace process – it’s instructive to consider the situation of a Palestinian infant from the Gaza Strip named Heba Abu Khater. Last August, Heba was admitted to the Wolfson Medical Center in Israel on life support. Facing long odds because of a congenital heart defect, she was one of nearly 100 other Palestinian children that received free cardiac care last year from an Israeli NGO called “Save a Child’s Heart.”

After an invasive surgery in Wolfson’s state-of-the-art medical center, Heba quickly bounced back. Today she is on the road to recovery and doing well, except for one thing: under new laws passed this month by Hamas – the terrorist organization that rules over Gaza – Heba’s family and the Palestinian hospital staff that treated her could all be subjected to ten-year prison sentences for engaging with an Israeli NGO.

For much of the international community – now awash in talk about the prospects for renewed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians – Hamas’ latest assault on the foundations for peace has largely inspired a collective yawn.

Read this article in full at  The Times of Israel