A/HRC/10/35 page 3 10. On 27 July 2008, the IDF closed the Beit Kahil Bridge with an earth mound for one day, effectively cutting off the population of Beit Kahil, Tarqumiya and Idhna (with a combined population of 60,000) from Hebron City. Consequently, a 24-year-old woman from Tarqumiya was forced to give birth in a car while waiting for an ambulance to transport her to a hospital.2 11. In the same location, a similar incident occurred on 28 August 2008. A WHO mental-health team witnessed and reported that, due to an earth mound, the IDF closed the only accessible road to the community centre. A woman had to deliver in her husband’s car since they could not pass the obstacle to reach the hospital on time due to the closure of the road. 12. Another incident involved a 21-year-old woman, married with one child, resident of Qusra in the Nablus District. On 4 September 2008, seven months pregnant, she started to bleed severely. At close to 1 a.m., she and her husband left for the nearest hospital in Nablus, but Israeli soldiers did not permit them to pass through the Huwara checkpoint because they did not have the requisite permit to cross by car. As a result, she delivered at the checkpoint a stillborn baby.3 13. In January 2009, a 25-year-old pregnant woman from Al A’sawiya (Jerusalem) was delayed by soldiers at Zayem checkpoint, which controls access to East Jerusalem through the Barrier. The woman, who held a Jerusalem ID and was travelling in a car with Israeli plates, informed the soldiers upon arrival that she was in labour. According to the woman, she was delayed for two hours, during which her waters broke. After being allowed through, she delivered in the car while en route to the hospital, where she was rushed into the emergency room. 14. Movement restrictions impact on the lives of Palestinian women not only during childbirth, but also during pre- and post-natal care. In that regard, the situation of the villages of Azzun Atmeh in the Qalqiliya District and Barta’ Al Sharqiya in the Jenin District has been highlighted by WHO. In Azzun Atmeh, a village completely surrounded by the Wall whose only access is through a gate guarded by the IDF, the main obstacles impeding access to quality health care and affecting the regular provision of health services is the presence of the Wall and the search procedures that the residents, including patients, are subject to upon entering and leaving the village. Accessing secondary health-care services, especially while the gate is closed, means an added risk of the deterioration of health status in urgent cases and pregnant women. The risk of unattended delivery is also compounded by the fact that no midwife is available in Azzun Atmeh. 2 3 Ibid. Naheel ‘Awni ‘Abd a-Rahim Abu Rideh gave her testimony to the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem; see www.btselem.org/english/testimonies/20080904_Nahil_ Ridah_Ridah_forced_to_give_birth_at_checkpoint.asp.