Israel To Pay Infant’s Family

Israel has agreed to compensate a Palestinian family whose month-old baby died of pneumonia after soldiers held up an ambulance for 90 minutes at an army checkpoint.

Doctors said the baby boy could have been saved if the ambulance hadn’t been delayed. The parents of Shaker Shawahneh sued the defense ministry after their son died March 9.

A defense ministry spokeswoman confirmed Sunday the family would be compensated, but, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to say how much the Shawahnehs would receive. Palestinian sources said it was about $8,000.

Shaker died of pneumonia in the emergency room at Tulkarem Hospital in the West Bank.