Palestine A woman from the isolated enclave of As Siafa lost her baby today after prolonged delays reached the nearest hospital.
At approximately 6am, Sabah As Sawarka, 23 years old, tried to leave As Siafa.
Residents of the area contacted the Israeli army to try and coordinate her movement out of the area, which has been completely sealed since August 17th.
Eventually, the Israeli army sent an ambulance, which took As Sawarka first to the Erez crossing, where she was transferred to a Palestinian ambulance.
She was then taken to the Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia, but lost the baby.

Earlier that morning in As Siafa, the army broke into six homes and carried out searches.
Residents were not informed of any reasons for the searches.
Palestinian sources inside Al Mawasi have told Al Mezan that the restrictions on movement in the area are likely to result in the loss of their entire guava harvest.

Al Mawasi, an enclave surrounded by settlements, has been sealed since the beginning of the disengagement.
The residents have approximately 7,000 dunams of land, which is about 90% of the agricultural land in the area, planted with guava and other fruit.
Residents say the harvest requires daily care and will be ruined if they are not allowed to tend to it immediately.
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, today issued a decree preventing individuals from appropriating state land in the evacuated settlement in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Authority, 97% of the land to be evacuated is government land and will be used for public projects.
Individuals able to prove ownership of the remaining land will be able to claim it.

The Palestinian press center also announced today that the former site of the settlement of Morag will be the location of 3,000 new homes for Palestinians whose home were demolished during the intifada.
The housing will be financed by donations from the United Arab Emirates.
Israel The Israeli army today halted its evacuation of the Gaza Strip for the Sabbath and announced that the operations would resume Sunday with the evacuation of Katif, Atzmona, Nitzarim and Elei Sinai.

Israeli police and military forces announced that the evacuation of settlers from 17 of the settlements in the Gaza Strip was complete.
Two settlements in the West Bank have also been evacuated and will be turned into army sites.
Palestinian and Israeli sources report that the Israeli army has started digging trenches around the Gush Katif settlements in the southern Gaza Strip, ostensibly to prevent Palestinians from entering the settlements.
A large area of cultivated land has been ruined as a result.
International Nigel Roberts, manager of the World Bank, said today that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will only help revive the Palestinian economy if serious efforts are made to ensure freedom of movement and goods in and out of the Strip.

Roberts emphasized the need for open borders with Egypt and Israel, and links to the outside world through border crossing and an air and sea port.
He also spoke of the need for the establishment of a safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank.