Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, the IDF has severely restricted the movement of Palestinians within the Occupied Territories. These restrictions have affected, inter alia, the access of Palestinians to medical treatment, both because of the hundreds of physical roadblocks, and because of the manner in which soldiers handle the crossing of Palestinians at the checkpoints.

Israeli officials contend that the IDF does not harm Palestinians who need medical treatment. Among their arguments is that in every "section" containing a physical roadblock, one route is left open for ambulances to pass. The IDF also contends that it has distributed to soldiers at the checkpoints a special procedure dealing with persons requiring medical treatment, which is intended to expedite their crossing the checkpoints. Dalia Basa, the Civil Administration's medical coordinator, states that, "The Civil Administration shows special sensitivity in all health-related matters."

The reality is altogether different. In some "sections," no alternative route is available. For example, three villages east of Nablus – 'Azmut, Dier al-Khatab, and Salem – were detached from Nablus for many months. A petition to the High Court of Justice was required to get the army to establish a road linking the villages to Nablus. Furthermore, one road is not sufficient to serve the needs of an area in which tens of thousands of persons live. The roads are worn and winding, crowded, and ultimately contain a staffed IDF checkpoint.

The procedure applying to crossings at checkpoints is headed "Procedure for the Handling of Residents of Judea and Samaria who Arrive at a Checkpoint in an Emergency Medical Situation." The procedure states, inter alia:

1. As a rule, the checkpoint commander will allow a person to cross the checkpoint (including entry into Israel) to obtain medical treatment, even if the individual does not have the requisite approval, if an urgent medical emergency is involved. An example of a case of urgent medical emergency is a situation in which a woman about to give birth arrives at the checkpoint; a case in which a person suffering from massive bleeding arrives at the checkpoint; a situation in which a person with a serious burn injury arrives at the checkpoint.
   
2. Whether a situation is an urgent medical emergency is left to the discretion of the checkpoint commander. The checkpoint commander will consult, where time permits, with a medical official.
   
3. In the event of doubt whether an urgent medical emergency is involved, the resident shall be given the benefit of the doubt.

This procedure is insufficient. It relates only to emergency cases. Furthermore, leaving the decision to the checkpoint commander, who lacks medical training, is itself problematic.

In any event, in many cases, soldiers at the staffed checkpoints do not strictly follow the procedure. Human rights organizations have received hundreds of complaints (and the Palestinian Red Crescent has recorded many instances) regarding ambulances transporting sick and wounded, some of them in emergency situations, being delayed or prevented from crossing checkpoints. Soldiers at checkpoints delay ambulances from crossing, often for several hours, even after they have thoroughly checked the ambulances. More than once, soldiers have treated the ambulance staff and patients in a derisive and degrading manner. At times, soldiers have damaged equipment and the ambulance itself, and beat the ambulance staff. In the most severe cases, women were left to give birth at checkpoints without skilled personnel and proper equipment. Some of these births ended in the death of the newborn. In some cases in which sick persons were not allowed to pass and reach a hospital to receive treatment, the patient died.

International law requires the special handling of the sick, wounded, pregnant women, and the feeble, and provides that medical teams and sick and wounded persons must be allowed to pass. By routinely restricting the freedom of movement of ambulances in the Occupied Territories, Israel flagrantly violates international law and causes grave harm to health of the residents of the Occupied Territories.