RAMALLAH, July 6, 2026 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said Israeli military checkpoints have become "checkpoints of death," systematically employed by the occupation authorities as a tool to oppress the Palestinian people and endanger their lives.
The ministry held Israel fully responsible for the death of four-month-old Palestinian infant, Ahmad Marouf Zaid, after Israeli occupation forces held him at a military checkpoint and prevented him from reaching urgently needed medical treatment.
In a statement, the Ministry said Israeli occupation forces committed a heinous crime at the entrance to the village of Deir Ammar, west of Ramallah, after closing the iron gate at the village entrance and blocking the vehicle transporting infant Ahmad Marouf Zaid—who was suffering from severe oxygen deprivation and seizures—from reaching the hospital. The vehicle was held for more than an hour despite the infant's critical condition, causing him to die while awaiting permission to pass.
The Ministry strongly condemned the crime, describing it as part of a deliberate and systematic Israeli policy targeting Palestinian children, as documented by reports issued by independent international commissions of inquiry, United Nations bodies, and international human rights organizations.
The Ministry stressed that the continued impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of Israeli crimes only encourages the occupation authorities to commit further violations against the Palestinian people. It added that the death of infant Ahmad Marouf Zaid is yet another link in the ongoing chain of crimes targeting Palestinian civilians, particularly children, and constitutes a compound crime that further adds to Israel's extensive record of grave violations of international law and international humanitarian law.
The Ministry reaffirmed that it will continue its political, diplomatic, and legal efforts across various international forums to pursue those responsible for these crimes and ensure they are held accountable, while working to secure international protection for the Palestinian people and their children.
The Ministry also called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities by taking effective and urgent measures to halt the occupation's crimes, end its impunity, and work toward ending the Israeli occupation as the root cause of these crimes, in a manner that guarantees the Palestinian people the realization of their legitimate rights and the establishment of their independent, sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
T.R.
