At the dawn of Saturday the 6th of September, 2008 the 21-year old Mrs. Naheel Abu Reida was to become a new victim for the Israeli occupation's sadist practices at Huwwara checkpoint which separates the City of Nablus from its immediate vicinity. Mrs. Abu Reida arrived at the checkpoint with her husband Mo'ayyad Abu Reida and his brother Adnan Abu Reida in his car. Both Mr. and Mrs. Abu Reida are from the village of Qasra which is located 27 kilometers south of the city of Nablus. All of them were heading towards Rafedia Hospital in the city of Nablus to deliver a baby that they have been waiting for for the past two years.
Mrs. Naheel was seven month pregnant when labor pain started at 12:20 AM on the afore-mentioned Saturday. However, upon arrival at the checkpoint the soldiers prevented her, her husband and her brother-in-law from passing through the checkpoint under the pretext that the car they are using to travel does not have the 'necessary permits' to enter Nablus. The screams of pain and helplessness by the pregnant mother as well as the pleas of the husband did not convince the soldiers to let them through. The answer of the occupation soldiers was the total refusal of the request of the pleading Palestinians despite the obvious on-site suffering of the laboring mother.
An hour went by before a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was allowed to reach the checkpoint. An initial medical checkup in the ambulance revealed that the baby was stillborn. Any hope of reviving him was lost. Mr. Mo'ayyad Abu Reida spoke with sorrow and grief with the Land Research Center's field researcher. He expressed the following: ' My wife felt the labor pain while she was at the beginning of the 7th month of pregnancy. So I quickly called my brother as to transport us to Rafeida hospital by his car in the early hours of the morning. My mom went with us, too. We went through Za'atara checkpoint with no problem until we reached Huwwara checkpoint. I haggled with the soldiers for more than 20 minutes as they have told me that the checkpoint was closed. Despite the fact that they observed that my wife was in pain, they have decided to humiliate us; they have told my brother to backup the car 10 meters away from the checkpoint before collecting our IDs for 'security check.' We pleaded with them for over an hour to let us pass, yet to no avail. When the ambulance has arrived, everything was lost. The baby could not make it. He died as babies born in the 7th month usually need special equipment to regulate their breathing. Of course he couldn't make especially when he is born in the back of a car at mid night. Almost half of him was out of his mother's womb when the ambulance has arrived. '
It worth pointing out that a number of baby deliveries have taken place on the Israeli military checkpoints scattered throughout the West Bank and especially at Huwwara. A number of these babies have died as a result of the denial of access to the appropriate medical facilities.
Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC
