Israeli PM calls on medical residents to return to work

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at Sunday's weekly cabinet session, urged striking physicians to immediately return to work and "leave patients out of the struggle." "I understand your desire to improve your conditions of employment, but none of us, nobody in the State of Israel, is above the law and we must all honor court decisions," he said, according to an official statement. The prime minister also pointed to a High Court back-to-work order. Since last week, over 300 medical residents have failed to show up for their shifts, as part of their battle for increased wages and improved working conditions. In the over seven-month struggle with the Finance Ministry, physicians have complained of the shortage of staff, long shifts, and low salaries. Residents agreed to return to talks on Saturday and appoint a mediator to deal with the Finance Ministry, The Jerusalem Post reported. The hard-fought four-way labor dispute between the Israel Medical Association, the Health and Finance ministries and the residents has led to continuous disruptions in the Israeli health care system for more than half a year.