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18.1.04
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New B'Tselem Report: IDF Soldiers Severely Abuse Palestinians |
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Over the course of five days (Dec. 27-31), IDF soldiers abused Palestinians at the Sarra checkpoint, near Nablus. Testimonies taken by B'Tselem reveal that the soldiers carried out mock executions, severely beat Palestinians, and tied up their victims.
On 28 December 2003, B'Tselem's checkpoint monitoring team met Nazmi a-Sheikh next to the Sarra checkpoint, just moments after he had been beaten. That same day, B'Tselem sent urgent appeals to IDF officials to stop the abuse, remove the soldiers from the checkpoint, and investigate the matter. Despite continued appeals to IDF officials, the abuse continued for the next several days.
B'Tselem published a report describing this abuse, which points out that despite the continuing severe human rights violations at checkpoints over the past three years - during which the siege policy has been in force - the IDF has repeatedly failed to prevent grave incidents of this kind. The report contends that these cases are the direct and unpreventable result of the IDF's sweeping and destructive siege policy, manifested in hundreds of physical obstacles and dozens of staffed checkpoints within the West Bank.
B'Tselem calls for the removal of checkpoints inside the West Bank. Until they are removed, B'Tselem urges the IDF to immediately remove the soldiers serving at the Sarra checkpoint and to conduct Military Police investigations and bring to justice all those responsible for the incidents described in the report. In addition, B'Tselem calls for the opening of Military Police investigations in all cases in which soldiers harm Palestinian civilians.
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Ambulance team treating Nazmi a-Sheikh after IDF soldiers beat him at the Sarra checkpoint.
Photo: B'Tselem |
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Testimony of Ahmad 'Abdallah |
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Testimony of Nazmi a-Sheikh |
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Testimony of 'Ala 'Adwan |
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Testimony of Muhand Hassan |
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Testimony of M.T. |
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Testimony of Zuheir Suliman |
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Bribery at the Qalandiya Checkpoint |
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During October and November 2003, IDF soldiers stationed at the Qalandiya checkpoint took bribes from Palestinians in return for allowing their trucks to pass. During this period, the Bitunia checkpoint, which was the passage point for trucks going to Ramallah, was closed. As a result, the trucks had to go through the Qalandiya checkpoint.
M., a Palestinian merchant (whose full name is on file with B'Tselem) told B'Tselem:
“Every morning, I went to the Qalandiya checkpoint to make sure that our trucks crossed the checkpoint without any problem. To make sure everything went OK, I gave bribes to soldiers at the checkpoints. The first time I bribed a soldier was two months ago. I was standing near the soldiers…and I noticed that one of the drivers gave them a bribe. He gave a soldier a telecard (a pre-paid calling card for a mobile phone), and the soldier let him cross.
“The same day, I spoke to a man who came to the checkpoint regularly... he mediated between truck drivers and merchants and the soldiers at the checkpoints... I saw him bribe a soldier for one of the truck drivers. I approached him and asked him to help me in getting three trucks across... He immediately went up to the soldier, talked to him, and came back and told me that the soldier wanted four calling cards... I gave him the details about the trucks and three hundred shekels, which was the cost of four telecards. I only used the mediator the first time. Every day, I spoke with the soldier directly and bribed him. I went up to him, gave him a telecard, and told him the number of trucks I had that needed to pass the checkpoint.”
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“I spoke with the soldier directly and bribed him. I went up to him, gave him a telecard, and told him the number of trucks I had that needed to pass the checkpoint.”
M., Palestinian merchant |
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Kidney Patient Faces Daily Delays Due to Israeli Siege Policy |
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Following are excerpts from the testimony of Ahmad ‘Amarnah, a kidney patient who lives in the village of Ya'bad, describing the daily delays he faces as a result of the checkpoints within the West Bank.
“As a result of all the checkpoints, I am always late for my checkups. On Sunday, 7 December 2003, around 6:00 A.M., I left my house in Ya'bad together with my wife. I was planning to go to Nablus for my checkup and to make an appointment for an operation. My past experiences at checkpoints taught me that I have to leave home very early. I was worried because of the large number of checkpoints on the way...
“We reached the Beit Iba checkpoint between 7:00-7:30 A.M. It was very crowded. I asked the people in line to let me cross ahead of them because I was sick and had to undergo an operation at the hospital. They allowed me to go ahead of them.
“While I was moving up towards the front of the line, one of the soldiers saw me and was apparently irritated by what I had done. When I got to the front, I gave him my ID card and my medical documents. He took my documents and said, 'Stand there!'... I sat there for about fifteen minutes, and then the soldier came up to me and said in Hebrew, 'Go over there,' and he pointed to a certain spot about twenty meters from the checkpoint. I understood that he wanted me to stand where several young people who had been delayed were standing. I walked over there and sat down. I waited there for more than an hour and fifteen minutes before the soldiers let me cross. On the way back, the soldiers at the same checkpoint made me wait for more than an hour...”
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Ahmad ‘Amarnah, kidney patient, delayed at the Beit Iba checkpoint, in the West Bank. Photo: B'Tselem |
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The full testimony |
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