Pregnant Palestinian delivers stillborn baby after Israeli forces delay ambulance

A Palestinian woman delivered a stillborn baby after an Israeli military checkpoint delayed the ambulance carrying her to hospital in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian medics, as Israel continued a sweeping campaign of raids, demolitions, arrests and land seizures across the territory on Monday.

The 28-year-old woman, who was six months pregnant and unconscious, was being rushed from her home in the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, to Rafidia Hospital after suffering severe bleeding, medics said.

Ghassan Hamdan, spokesperson for civil institutions and community organisations in Nablus, told The New Arab that the woman, from the village of Qaryut, was suffering a medical emergency and was being rushed to hospital when Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the Awarta military checkpoint.

Medic Bashar Qaryouti said the ambulance was forced to divert along dirt tracks after nearby roads were closed before reaching the checkpoint, where a gate was shut and a queue of vehicles had formed. He said Israeli soldiers ordered him to switch off the ambulance despite explaining that its medical equipment was being used to keep the woman alive.

As the ambulance remained stranded, the nurse on board was forced to deliver a stillborn baby inside the vehicle.

By the time she reached hospital, the woman had lost her six-month-old foetus, although doctors were able to save her life.

Hamdan said Israel's tightened restrictions around Nablus had severely affected patients, particularly pregnant women requiring emergency medical care.

"The siege imposed on Nablus is directly affecting patients and pregnant women and preventing them from reaching hospitals," he said, noting that the governorate has remained under a strict closure for a fourth consecutive day following deadly violence in the nearby village of Tal.

The incident came as Israeli forces intensified operations across the occupied West Bank, demolishing homes and businesses, issuing new military orders to seize hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land, conducting widespread raids and arrests, and as settlers carried out a series of attacks on Palestinians and their property.

Raids and arrests around Nablus

In Tal, south-west of Nablus, Israeli forces raided the village before dawn, searched several homes and arrested Hussein Ali Ramadan, whose sons Ibrahim and Jawad were killed in recent violence.

His family also includes Majd, who is currently imprisoned by Israel, and Ali, who was wounded. Another young Palestinian was also arrested.

Walid Zidan, head of Tal village council, told The New Arab that Israeli settlers remained in the area where four Palestinians and two Israelis have been killed since Friday.

In nearby Beit Dajan, former village council head Munjid Abu Jaish said Israeli authorities had issued demolition notices on Sunday for agricultural structures and a home. On Monday, Israeli bulldozers uprooted olive trees surrounding the area's main artesian well, which supplies water to Beit Dajan and neighbouring Beit Furik, close to a newly established Israeli settlement outpost.

Israeli forces also arrested four Palestinians during a raid on Balata refugee camp east of Nablus, while additional arrests were reported in Asira al-Shamaliya and Madama.

South of the city, troops stopped vehicles near the cemetery in the village of Odala, searched them and tore down posters commemorating two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, according to local sources.

In a separate incident, Israeli settlers reportedly assaulted a young Palestinian east of Aqraba before Israeli soldiers arrested him.

Demolitions near Jenin and Ramallah

Further north, Israeli forces demolished a three-storey home and commercial premises belonging to Jihad Mousa in the town of Arraba, south of Jenin, on the grounds that they had been built without permits.

Arraba mayor Ahmad al-Arada told The New Arab that the owner had received a demolition order more than two months ago and had pursued legal appeals, all of which were rejected before Israeli forces arrived with bulldozers and military vehicles to carry out the demolition.

In Tulkarm governorate, Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinians during raids across several neighbourhoods and towns, including Israa Nasrallah. Further arrests were reported in Qalqilya, Kafr Qaddum and Baqat al-Hatab.

In Nilin, west of Ramallah, Israeli authorities demolished the home of Wasim Mahmoud Nafeh, citing a lack of building permits. The 240-square-metre house was home to a family of five.

Nilin mayor Imad al-Khawaja said Nafeh had appealed the demolition order before Israel's High Court, but his petition was unsuccessful. He warned that other homes in the area now face demolition.

Israeli forces also raided Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah, carrying out arrests and on-the-spot interrogations.

Settler attacks and land seizures

In the Hebron area, settlers released cattle into olive groves in Wadi al-Nafakh near the village of al-Burj, damaging agricultural land, according to local sources.

Elsewhere, Israeli settlers grazed sheep on Palestinian farmland in al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, destroying crops and trees.

In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli municipal authorities demolished the home of Mahmoud Mohammad Atiya Qweider in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, citing construction without a permit.

Authorities also forced the al-Rimawi family to demolish three of their own homes in Jabal al-Mukabber to avoid paying the heavy costs that Israel imposes on homeowners after carrying out demolitions. Around 10 people had been living in the three houses.

Meanwhile, Hassan Mleihat, director of the Al-Baydar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights, told The New Arab that Israeli authorities demolished several homes and sheep pens belonging to Mar'i Mohammad Mleihat in the Arab al-Ka'abneh community near Beit Hanina, northwest of Jerusalem.

The community was subjected to forced displacement around a month ago and remains home to hundreds of families facing ongoing Israeli measures threatening their continued presence in the area.

In the northern Jordan Valley, Moataz Bisharat, who monitors settlement activity in Tubas governorate, said the Israeli military had issued six military orders to seize land in Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley for a new settlement road linking Ein Shibli and Jabal al-Salmi near the village of Raba.

The orders affect privately owned land in Tubas, Tayasir, Aqaba, Ibziq and Raba, including areas classified as Area A under the Oslo Accords.

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission later said the six orders would seize nearly 498 dunams of land for a roughly 10-kilometre military and settlement road, with the orders remaining in force until the end of 2028.