-Caveat Lector-
13 June 2001
B'Tselem publishes new report on the Medical Implications of Israel's
Siege Policy
Military officials acknowledge that they intentionally obstruct access to
medical care.
"The IDF has procedures intended to ensure that emergency medical cases will
be able to pass through the roadblocks, to process applications of residents
of the areas to receive medical treatments in hospitals..."
From the IDF's Spokesperson's response to
B'Tselem's report, Civilians Under Siege
Soldier: Want to go to the hospital? No chance. No chance.
B'Tselem: No chance?
Soldier: Get in, turn around, and go back.
B'Tselem: No chance at all?
Soldier: What blabberers. Get in and turn around.
B'Tselem fieldworker Hashem Abu Hassan,
trying to enable Lutfiya Jaludi, 41, to cross a checkpoint to get dialysis
treatment, 7 June 2001. Tape recording on file at B'Tselem
B'Tselem published a report yesterday entitled, "No Way Out" on the
detrimental affects on medical treatment of Israel's siege in the Occupied
Territories. The report presents seven representative cases from the past
few months, including soldiers who delayed ambulances transporting patients
and an elderly woman from Jenin who was jolted about in what became a
two-day trip to reach the hospital in Ramallah to undergo brain surgery.
These cases, which are not uncommon, are an inevitable result of the nature
of the siege and the manner in which it is implemented.
According to Ynet (The Yedioth Ahronoth internet addition) in a June 12,
2001 article that covered B'Tselem's release of "No Way Out," security
sources said "... the IDF consciously obstructed people seeking medical
attention in the West Bank." Ynet reports that senior military officials
say that since the tightening of the closures in the Occupied Territories
last Friday following the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel has not
allowed the passing of medical teams and ambulances from the northern parts
of the West Bank to the southern parts.
Despite Israel's previous statements in the High Court of Justice and IDF
declarations since the siege began, the sick are prevented from obtaining
medical treatment - even in emergencies - both by the unstaffed roadblocks
(concrete blocks and piles of dirt) and by soldiers at checkpoints.
Procedures that are supposed to regulate crossing at checkpoints for persons
who need medical treatment are not implemented, and, in many instances, the
sick are forced to make their way along long, unpaved roads to bypass the
checkpoints and reach clinics and medical centers.
B'Tselem's report illustrates the consequences of the restrictions that
Israel imposes in the Occupied Territories. These restrictions constitute
collective punishment and directly harm the civilian population that is not
involved in the violence. If urgent humanitarian cases face such serious
problems on the way to hospitals, it is easy to imagine the fate of persons
who "only" want to get to work or school. In the report's conclusions,
B'Tselem urges the government of Israel to:
* cease using collective punishment against Palestinian civilians;
* enable free movement of the sick and of ambulances, remove the
unstaffed roadblocks, and implement the
procedures for passing at checkpoints;
* investigate cases in which IDF soldiers delayed the movement of the
sick, and prosecute those responsible.
To read the full report please visit:
http://btselem.org/Files/site/english/press/2001/010612.asp
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