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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- A young boy bitten by a snake in Nablus on Sunday was refused medical attention by Israeli soldiers manning a checkpoint, the boy's father said.

Tareq Abu Aoun told Ma'an that his son Muhammad was bitten by the snake near the Hamra checkpoint in Nablus and lost consciousness.

He asked Israeli soldiers to allow him to pass the checkpoint and call an ambulance, but they refused.

The soldiers told Abu Aoun that he was obstructing the checkpoint and prevented him from queuing to pass through.

An ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent managed to access the area after an hour and a half and transferred the boy to Rafida hospital, where he is said to be in a critical condition.

The boy's father killed the snake and took it to the hospital so doctors would be able to identity the correct antidote.

He said the soldiers were laughing as they left the area.

Palestinians' freedom of movement in the occupied West Bank is severely restricted by a system of "fixed checkpoints, surprise flying checkpoints, physical obstructions, roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel, and gates along the Separation Barrier," B'Tselem says.

According to the group, there are 98 fixed Israeli checkpoints in the occupied West Bank and Israeli forces erect hundreds of flying checkpoints during the year.
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