Those evil “settlers” that care nothing for Palestinian life. The IDF that randomly kills Palestinian children. Yesterday, the surviving members of the Fogel family that were massacred by Palestinian terrorists were sitting shiva in Neve Tzuf. Recently installed IDF chief Benny Gantz had just arrived to offer his condolences. Suddenly, a Palestinian taxicab careened toward the gates of the “settlement” community. Did the community guards shoot as the cab approached? No. Did the IDF open fire? No. The cab was waved in and a Palestinian woman was found inside–in the advanced stages of labor and in a life threatening situation for her and her baby. Her unbilical cord was wrapped around her baby’s neck.
Once inside, a doctor in the “settlement” community and an IDF paramedic rushed to the cab and successfully delivered the baby, a girl. Corporal Haim Levin, 19, an IDF paramedic, was the first medical team member at the scene and recounted the dramatic situation he faced: “When I arrived, I saw a woman covered by a blanket in a yellow Palestinian van. I moved closer and saw the baby’s head and upper body. The umbilical cord was around the baby’s neck; the baby was grey and didn’t move. I first removed the cord from the neck and at the same time asked paramedics to prepare the baby resuscitation kit. I pinched her to see if she’s responding, and she started to cry,” he said. Paramedics also treated the mother, who was in good condition at that point, Levin said.
Meanwhile, ambulance driver Orly Shlomo raced to the scene: “We joined the military paramedic and helped him cut off the umbilical cord…without the medical treatment, the fetus and woman faced genuine life danger. It was touching, but I couldn’t help but think that a few meters from there, people were sitting Shiva for another baby, who was murdered,” she said. “I was touched to see the face of the new baby, but I also thought about the face of the murdered baby.”
Gadi Amitun, who heads the Magen David Adom team at Neve Tzuf, said this was not the first time settlers assist Palestinians in distress. “They know we have a skilled medical team here, and in any case of accident or injury they arrive and we help them,” he said. The paramedic noted that on the day of the Fogel massacre, settlers saw fireworks and celebrations in nearby Palestinian communities, but added that the local medical team is committed to assisting anyone in need: “Two years ago, we also made sure to treat a terrorist who attempted to place a bomb on the road and was shot by soldiers,” he said.
Palestinians from the nearby village of Nabi Salah gathered around the paramedics along with the new grandmother and could not hide their joy. “They thanked us and told us they named the girl Jude,” Corporal Levin said.
Corporal Levin with Jude.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.