A Palestinian woman undergoes a miscarriage after the Israeli army obstructed her access to a hospital in the northern West Bank

A Palestinian woman suffered a miscarriage on Monday after the Israeli army obstructed the arrival of an ambulance that was taking her to a hospital in the northern occupied West Bank, according to what paramedics said.

Paramedic Bashar Qaryouti told Agence France-Presse that on Monday morning he transported a “six-month pregnant woman from her home” in the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, noting that she was unconscious and suffering from severe bleeding.

The 28-year-old woman was placed on supportive medical equipment, including an oxygen tube, and a nurse accompanied her to monitor her condition, and the ambulance set off for Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus. However, the trip turned into a desperate search for an open road, according to Qaryouti.

The ambulance was forced to take agricultural roads in the middle of the olive fields due to the Israeli army closing the entrance to the neighboring village of Al-Sawiya, before Al-Qaryouti reached the town of Huwwara and then the Awarta checkpoint, where the army had closed the iron gate it had installed there.

Al-Qaryouti explained that he crossed the queues of vehicles that were waiting for the gate to open and sounded the siren. About ten minutes later, soldiers came out from a nearby military watchtower and ordered him to turn off the vehicle.

He added, “The soldiers forced me at gunpoint to turn off the ambulance,” which led to the stopping of the supporting medical equipment inside it, “despite my assurance to them that it was a matter of life and death.”

He pointed out that the soldiers confiscated the identity cards of the crew members.

As the ambulance remained stuck, the woman’s condition deteriorated.

He added that she had a miscarriage inside the vehicle with the help of the nurse before the soldiers allowed them to pass after more than 30 minutes, and he was finally able to deliver her to Rafidiya Governmental Hospital in Nablus.

Hospital director Fouad Nafaa confirmed to AFP that the woman’s condition was stable and that they were able to control the bleeding.