This article was originally published by Maan News and is republished with permission.

A Palestinian man died on Friday when Israeli soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in the Nablus area delayed the ambulance in which he was traveling.

The ambulance was called to rescue Zaid Said Sayeh, 25, after he came close to drowning in a swimming pool in the Badhan area, north of Nablus. He was pulled out of the water in a critical state, but when the ambulance attempted to pass through the road barrier in the area, in order to get to a hospital in the city, Israeli soldiers prohibited the ambulance's passage. The troops stationed at theIsraeli checkpoint forced the driver to wait, delaying medical treatment.

According to the ambulance driver, Adnan Ghaneimi, the Israeli soldiers deliberately delayed the ambulance, "showing neglect and ignorance." He added that after more than 20 minutes, during which he was attacked, pushed and humiliated by the soldiers, he was allowed to enter Badhan to rescue the man.

The driver said that on his way back, he was "stopped again, despite their [the soldiers'] knowledge that I was transporting a man in a critical condition." The delays were too much for Sayeh, who died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Israeli army sources claimed that the man died as a result of the drowning, not due to the delay at the "security" barrier.

In the recent years, many Palestinians have died at the barriers and many women have had to deliver babies at the barriers because of the Israeli soldiers' prevention of their passage.