|
Jerusalem August 26,1998
Soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint
prevented a pregnant woman in labour from crossing to the
hospital in Hebron…the baby died as a result
Yesterday
evening, Israeli soldiers on a military checkpoint prevented
a Palestinian woman from Beit Ula village in Hebron, who was
in labour, from going to hospital to deliver, claiming that
the area is under curfew.
The
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), called
the woman's husband Jamil Ahmad Salem al-'Adem - 27- father
to three children, who said that he took his wife Fadwa
Abdulsalam al-'Adem - 24- to hospital, with his brother who
was driving the vehicle, his mother, and mother in law. When
the vehicle arrived at the military checkpoint near Beit
Kahel at around seven in the evening, Azmi (Jamil's brother)
told the soldiers in Hebrew that his wife is in labour, and
they need to get to Alia hospital in Hebron. The soldiers
did not allow them through, claiming that the city is under
curfew. The family stood at the checkpoint for over half an
hour, trying to convince the soldiers to permit them to
pass, but to no avail. The family was forced to head towards
Tarqumia, Uthna, al-Kum, Deir Samet, and Dura villages, in
order to get to the hospital through secondary roads. On the
way there, the wife delivered her baby girl inside the
vehicle, with the help of her mother and mother in law. The
vehicle continued its journey to Alia hospital, and arrived
there at around nine in the evening. Doctors examined the
baby on the spot, and said that she had difficulty
breathing, and she was in critical condition. An hour later,
the baby died.
Curfews are forced every now
and then on Palestinian territories, and the PHRMG strongly
condemns this tragic incident which reflects the extent to
which our people are suffering. The PHRMG demands the
Israeli authorities to respect the right to life and human
cases, such as illness and delivery on military checkpoints,
where citizen's rights are deprived. Such cases occur dozens
of times in the Occupied Territories during curfews, and
many people fell victims as a result of this. The Israeli
army declared that they are going to release necessary
orders and instructions, when it comes down to cases of the
sort arriving at checkpoints and wanting to pass through.
The PHRMG points out the
importance of forming an investigation committee to discover
whether the soldiers where doing as they pleased, or whether
they received strict orders from their higher authorities.
The PHRMG also demands that
the Israeli soldiers take cases of human conditions of the
sort, upon arrival at military checkpoints, into
consideration, and not harass ambulances, other medical
teams, and civilian vehicles transporting sick people to
hospitals.
|
