Huwwara Checkpoint: IDF soldiers force woman in labor out of ambulance and beat driver, August 2003

Muhammad Rihan, age 18, ambulance driver

I live with my family in Nablus. I have been an ambulance driver with the Palestinian Red Crescent for six years.

On Thursday, 28 August 2003, around 9:20 A.M., I received instructions from Red Crescent headquarters to drive to Huwwara, about fifteen kilometers south of Nablus, in order to pick up two women about to give birth. I left with my colleague, Daliya Diab. We drove by way of the Huwwara checkpoint. At the checkpoint, there is a special lane for ambulances. When we got there, the soldiers searched us for five minutes and then let us cross.

After we picked up the two women, we came back to the same checkpoint. We waited for one of the soldiers to come and search us. The soldier began to check the IDs. Lubnah, one of the women we had picked up, had a Jordanian passport instead of an ID card. The soldier ordered her to give him her ID card. Daliya told the soldier that Lubnah did not have an ID card because she had come from Jordan for a visit. She also told him that she was about to give birth. The soldier ordered Lubnah to get out of the ambulance. He insisted that she go back home, despite the fact that she was already having contractions.

At this point, I started to get out of the ambulance to talk to the soldier. I wanted to explain to him that this wasn't the first time I had brought women visiting from Jordan to this checkpoint. I tried to talk to the soldier in Hebrew but he did not understand because I don't speak Hebrew well even though I understand it. I asked the soldier if he spoke English. He answered me in Hebrew that he didn't.

The rest of the soldiers at the checkpoint were about five meters away from us. I told the soldier that I wanted to explain to one of the other soldiers why Lubnah did not have an ID card. The soldier didn't say anything so I started to walk over to where the soldiers were at the checkpoint. The soldier shouted at me, grabbed my left hand and began to pull me back. He shouted at me, "Crazy son of a bitch." I asked him not to curse at me but he continued to do so. In response, I cursed back at him saying, "You're a son of a bitch."

The soldier kept cursing at me and pulling me. He ordered me to leave the checkpoint without Lubnah while grabbing my hands and clothes. I saw Lubnah standing next to the ambulance, terrified. She was having contractions. I tried to talk to the soldier, but he kept shouting and I didn't understand what he said. I didn't want to leave Lubnah at the checkpoint because she was about to give birth.

At this point, the soldier began hitting me with his hands. I tried to protect myself and catch his hand. Daliya tried to talk to the soldier in English. She asked him why he was behaving like this, but the soldier moved away from her. Another soldier joined his friend and began to beat me as well. He grabbed my clothes, hit and pushed me. Afterwards, he grabbed my neck and the two of them continued to push and hit me. I tired to fend off his punches with the palms of my hands and Daliya tried to get in between me and the two soldiers, but one of them hit her too, on the left shoulder.

There was a man at the checkpoint who had come there with his young daughter. He also tried to get the soldiers away from me, but the soldiers hit him and pushed him away. In the middle of all the commotion, I heard the second soldier speaking English. I tried to speak to him in order to clarify the situation but he wouldn't listen to me. At the same time, the first soldier put his finger on the trigger of his gun and threatened to shoot me. I felt as if I had no more energy. They caught me, tied my hands with white plastic handcuffs and tightened them so much that I lost feeling in my fingers. Afterwards, they left me next to a concrete block for ten minutes, during which time soldiers came up to me and shouted at me in Hebrew, "You are Abu Ali [you think you're so great]."

When I looked around, I didn't see Lubnah near the checkpoint. Later, I learned that she left when the soldiers started beating me. At this point, three soldiers took me to the other side of the checkpoint. Along the way, two of them went back and one soldier kept walking with me. He pushed me and cursed me the entire way until we got to the other side of the checkpoint.

When we arrived, another soldier "welcomed" me with additional curses. He said that I tried to hit the soldier at the checkpoint and he raised his hand threateningly. They tied my hands behind me and sat me on the ground, in the sun. There were tons of flies around, and I shook my head to try and to get them away from me.

While I was sitting there, some soldiers came over and cursed at me from time to time. I think that they behaved like that to me because the first soldier told them that I had hit him. The soldiers harassed me the entire time. They pushed me and cursed me. After a while, one of the soldiers sat down on the chair facing me and lit a cigarette. He asked me in English what happened and I told him. Apparently, I convinced him, because he ordered another soldier to tie my hands in front.

When they soldiers had walked me to the other side of the checkpoint, in the direction of Nablus, I saw the Red Crescent deputy manager, Mr. Khaled al-Khalili, arriving. He tried to talk to the soldiers and ask them what was happening with me. The soldier who had brought me ordered Khaled to go back and not to interfere.

Afterwards, an Red Cross vehicle arrived. At the same time, an Israeli commander also arrived at the checkpoint. There was a badge on his shoulder in the shape of a grape leaf. He spoke Arabic. He asked me what happened and I told him. Afterwards he spoke into a walkie-talkie. Apparently, he spoke with the soldiers on the other side of the checkpoint. Then he ordered the soldiers to remove my handcuffs. I left the checkpoint with Khaled al-Khalili. We drove back together to the Red Crescent headquarters.

Muhammad Daud 'Abd al-Muati Rihan is 18 years old. He is married and thr father of one. Muhammad works as an ambulance driver and is a resident of Nablus.
The testimony was taken by 'Ali Daraghmeh on 3 September 2003.