IDF in Hebron helps Palestinian woman in labor

While settlers riot following evacuation of disputed house, Civil Administration picks up woman suffering from contractions in need of evacuation to hospital

Efrat Weiss

Published: 12.05.08, 23:16 / Israel News

While security forces attempted to quell the riots in Hebron over the evacuation of the disputed house on Friday, Civil Administration officers were assisting a Palestinian woman who went into labor in the midst of the turmoil.

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Rightists and settlers began to riot in Hebron soon after the evacuation of the disputed house was completed, and large forces were deployed throughout the city.

"Civil Administration teams deployed in the area of the Jewish settlement in Hebron in order to make sure that the Palestinians' daily lives were not harmed," Lieutenant-Colonel Aviv Feigel, head of the Hebron District Civil Administration, told Ynet.

"Around 9 pm we received information about Palestinian homes that were damaged as a result of settler riots in Tel Rumeida. When we arrived, a Palestinian resident came towards us, appearing excited, and said his wife had begun having contractions and he didn't know what to do."

Due to the tumultuous occurrences that were sweeping the city, the Red Crescent could only operate at certain pre-coordinated spots, which were all far from the family's home.

"We couldn't take the woman by foot," Feigel said. "So straightaway we told her to climb on an Administration jeep so we could assist with the evacuation.

"The woman, already in labor, left the house accompanied by her mother. We drove her to the point at which a Red Crescent ambulance was waiting, and she was taken to the hospital in Hebron."

Feigel said the Palestinian father had no time to thank him in the turmoil that ensued, but summed up the case on a positive note. "The population sees us as the address to take care of problems, and even more so at a time like this, and our forces have received a lot of positive feedback," he said.

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