Mohammed was born three weeks ago, the firstborn to a young couple from Bir Zeit outside Ramallah. He was diagnosed with the complex heart defect called truncus arteriosus, but was well enough to go home with his family.
One week ago however the family noticed he was blue and struggling to breathe. He was rushed back to the hospital and placed on a ventilator.
Mohamnmed’s cardiologist advised that the full surgery to repair his defect, and give him a normal life, is only available in Israel, and must be done in the first weeks of life. The Sheba Medical Center agreed to accept Mohammed today at a substantially-discounted cost, and our non-profit association agreed to take responsibility for raising the rest of the funds that are needed.
But this morning the IDF refused permission for Mohammed’s ambulance to enter Israel. Though no explanation has been given, it appears to stem from the death of another firstborn baby from Bir Zeit, Reda, at Sheba a month and a half ago. We took his body, in the arms of his grieving mother, back home to the West Bank in the evening in our association’s van, rather than leave them waiting for hours or possibly overnight for permission to make an ambulance transfer.
We’ve had to transport bodies many times over the years in exceptional circumstances. But when we notified the IDF representative that same evening, he informed us it was illegal to transport a body without an ambulance, and said he would freeze the activities of our association. We can only guess that this is the reason that baby Mohammed is now denied the life-saving care he needs in Israel.
We ask the authorities, and the ultimate authority, our Father in heaven, to have mercy on Mohammed.