Majdi a-Saruji, victim, age 30, ambulance driver

I work as an ambulance driver for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Nablus. Last Sunday (11 January 2004), around 7:30 A.M., I left our headquarters, in the Khilat al-'Amud area. With me in the ambulance was the medic, Jamal Abu Hamdeh. We were going to pick up Diana Talal Abu Leyl, six months old, and take her to hospital in Ramallah. She has heart problems and was scheduled to undergo surgery.

On the way to Ramallah, we picked up a patient from Beit Furik which is about seven kilometers from Nablus. He had several broken bones in his thigh and was unable to move. We left Beit Furik for Ramallah at around 8:00 AM. At the Huwwara checkpoint, we waited for the soldiers to finish searching two ambulances that had arrived before us. When our turn came, the soldiers checked our ID cards and asked about the patients. They searched under the front hood and then allowed us to cross; the whole thing took about seven minutes.

We continued on our way. About 400 meters before the Za'tara checkpoint, we encountered a surprise checkpoint staffed by two soldiers. We gave one of them our ID cards, and he asked where we were going. He searched us for about five minutes and then allowed us to cross. We continued driving towards the Za'tara checkpoint, which is a permanent checkpoint with a watchtower and large cement blocks. Soldiers stand on the road there and check people. I bypassed a few cars, which I am allowed to do as an ambulance driver. When I got to the cement blocks, I saw three soldiers conducting searches. I turned off the motor, and Jamal, the people accompanying the patients, and I got out of the vehicle,as usual. I collected our passengers' ID cards. The patients stayed inside because of their condition.

I went up to one of the soldiers and gave him the ID cards. I don't remember what he looked like. The soldier told me to open the ambulance doors. He searched inside the ambulance, examined the patients with a glance, and checked the containers, the first-aid kit and the cabinets in the ambulance. He also checked under the hood. The search took about ten to fifteen minutes, after which the soldier allowed us to cross. We continued on our way. When we got to the a-Sawiya area, we encountered a jeep and three soldiers on the road. I saw nails on the road, which were intended to prevent cars from crossing in an unsupervised manner. There were about fifteen cars waiting to be searched.

As usual, I bypassed the cars and stopped the ambulance on the side of the road, about ten meters from the soldiers. One of the soldiers came up to us. I don't remember what he looked like. Because of the uniforms and helmets, they all look the same to me. I gave him my ID card and those of Jamal and of the others in the ambulance. He compared the IDs with a list that they had. He put the cards in his pocket and ordered everybody to get out. Everybody in the ambulance got out. The infant's mother carried her out, and we brought the second patient out in a wheelchair.

The soldier searched the ambulance, and the two other soldiers guarded him. We were standing three meters away from the ambulance. The soldier who searched the ambulance ordered me to open boxes, cabinets, and bags. The search took almost twenty minutes and afterwards, the soldiers told us to get in the ambulance, turn around and go back. He said that if we did not do as he said, he would not give us back our ID cards. He said, in Hebrew, "Turn the car around, or I will shoot you." I did what he said. I turned around and the soldier gave us back our ID cards. I drove about 300 or 400 meters and stopped to call the Red Crescent. Headquarters told me that they would try to coordinate matters with the Red Cross and other bodies.

After about forty-five minutes, headquarters called and told me that they had arranged something. They told me to go back to the checkpoint. The soldiers checked our ID cards again, made us get out, and searched the ambulance. This search took fifteen minutes. Then they let us cross. I continued driving towards Ramallah and at the 'Iyun al-Haramiyah junction, we came across another checkpoint. There was an army jeep and nails on the road. There were soldiers in the jeep and four soldiers were searching the seven to ten cars that were waiting to cross.

I stopped behind the cars. One of the soldiers motioned me to bypass the cars and drive up to him. I drove around the cars and stopped a few meters from the soldiers. One of the soldiers took our ID cards and checked them. Jamal and the man accompanying the patient from Beit Furik got out of the ambulance. The two patients and the baby's mother stayed inside the ambulance. The soldiers searched the medical equipment and under the hood. After about fifteen minutes, the soldiers gave us back our ID cards and told us to drive via Bir Zeit. I told him that I was taking a patient to Jerusalem and that I had to drive towards Ofra. He understood my request and allowed us to drive via Ofra.

Around 10:40 A.M., about a half kilometer before the Israeli settlement Ofra, I came to another checkpoint. On the road in front of us were nails and a military jeep with yellow flashing lights. I saw three other cars driving from Ramallah to Jerusalem. I stopped behind them and waited. When it was our turn, I turned off the car and took the ID cards. I got out of the ambulance and walked to the officer, who had two stripes on the shoulder of his uniform . He was tall and blonde, broad-shouldered and fair-skinned. He was heavyset, had small eyes, and appeared to be about thirty years old.

I gave him our ID cards and stood next to him. He looked at our ID cards and then suddenly kicked me, for no reason and without any provocation from me. While standing next to him, I saw two Palestinians sitting on the ground next to the checkpoint, their hands bound with plastic handcuffs. They looked like young men.

After the officer kicked me, I went back to the ambulance and sat down in the driver's seat. The officer went over to Jamal, who was sitting next to me, and said in poor Arabic, "Open the door." Jamal got up in order to open the back door of the ambulance when the officer suddenly pushed him in the shoulder, knocking him against the ambulance. The officer hit him on the neck and when he tried to hit him again, Jamal caught his arm. Another soldier came up behind Jamal and began hitting him. I don't remember what the soldier looked like. The two soldiers kicked and hit Jamal with their hands and guns. They cursed at him and called him a "Son of a bitch, son of a whore."

I opened my door and got out of the ambulance. I asked the officer why they were beating him. He answered me with his hands, punching me twice in the neck and kicking me twice in the legs. He told me in Arabic to return to the ambulance. I did as he said. The other soldier continued to beat Jamal. The officer joined in beating Jamal. and then the [other] soldier dragged Jamal by his jacket to the side of the road. Jamal lay on ground because of the beating he had received. The officer handcuffed him from behind with plastic cuffs. Jamal sat up and another officer came over. He also had two stripes on his uniform. He was short, thin, and dark-skinned. He had been there during the entire event, but intervened only after the other soldier had handcuffed Jamal. He ordered me in Arabic to get out of the ambulance and to remove the patients. I did what he said. Everyone got out and stood by the side of the road.

The second officer ordered me to open the boxes of medical equipment and the cabinets inside the ambulance. He also checked the engine. He conducted the search very slowly and meticulously. During the search, I looked over towards Jamal, because one of the soldiers or officers continued to hit and kick him.

The search took about half an hour, and when the captain finished, he ordered me to get into the ambulance and turn around and go back. Everybody got in, and I said to the officer that I could not leave without my colleague, because I was driving a heart patient who required treatment and supervision along the way, and that I could not do it alone. The first officer intervened and yelled, "Driver! Come here." I went over to him and he grabbed me by the throat. He tried to choke me, pushed me against the front part of the ambulance and said, "Get out of here." He threatened me and said, "I'll beat you like I beat your friend. I'll beat you and handcuff you."

I left and drove about 300 meters and stopped. I called headquarters to report what had happened. I waited there for half an hour. A military jeep pulled up. The soldier in the jeep asked me what I was doing there. I told him that I was waiting for my medic, who was being held at the nearby checkpoint. He said to me: "Your medic is under arrest and I am taking him to jail." The jeep drove off towards Ofra. I called the Red Crescent headquarters in Ramallah and told them that the army had detained Jamal and that I was waiting to see what would happen with him. They told me that they would send another ambulance to take the patients and that they were working on getting Jamal released. We agreed that the ambulance would wait at the checkpoint by the court in Bet El. I crossed the checkpoint and drove to Bet El. The second ambulance arrived to take the patients, and I returned to the Ofra area. I stopped 200 meters away from the entrance to Ofra and waited there for a half hour. I called headquarters again, and they told me that the army would bring Jamal to the DCO [District Coordinating Office] in Bet El. I drove there and waited. After about twenty minutes passed, headquarters called and told me to drive to Red Crescent headquarters in al-Bira.

I arrived in al-Bira at about 1:30 P.M. Jamal called headquarters and said that he had been released and was in 'Ein Yabrud. I drove there immediately but couldn't find him. I assumed that he would be waiting at a checkpoint near Ofra, so I drove back there. When I got there, the first officer said to me, "We took your friend to jail." I told him that Jamal was on the other side of the checkpoint and that I was going to cross to find him. He let me cross. I crossed and drove about a kilometer towards Nablus. I didn't find Jamal and decided to return to the checkpoint by Ofra. The first officer would not allow me to cross. All this time, I was in touch with Red Crescent headquarters.

I drove back and stopped about 200 meters away from the checkpoint. After about fifteen minutes passed, I went back to the checkpoint, and officer called to me and said that if I stayed there, he would do to me what he had done to my friend, and would take me to jail. I drove away. Then Red Crescent headquarters called me and said that they were trying to coordinate matters with the Red Cross to enable me to cross. They told me that the Red Cross might arrive there. I returned again to the checkpoint. The officer stopped me again and told me to go back. I told him that people from the International Red Cross and the DCO were on their way and had told me to wait for them next to the checkpoint. He said to me, "Ok, wait for them." A few moments later, the officer and the soldiers who were with him drove away in the jeep. I stayed there with four other soldiers.

I approached the soldiers. They checked my ID card, searched the ambulance, and allowed me to cross. I drove to 'Ein Yabrud and picked Jamal up on the main road. He was in terrible pain and had bruises on his back and lower legs. I saw the red marks on his body. I also picked up two other patients from another Red Crescent ambulance who needed to get to Nablus. We drove by way of Ofra and arrived at the checkpoint around 2:50 P.M. The same soldiers and officer who had attacked us were there. This time, they did not stop us, and we continued on to Nablus. On the way, we passed by the same checkpoints that we had in the morning. This time, the soldiers didn't stop us, except at the Huwwara checkpoint, where they delayed us briefly. We arrived in Nablus around 3:40 P.M.

Majdi 'Ali 'Issa a-Saruji is 30 years old. He is married with two children, and works as an ambulance driver and is a resident of the Balata refugee camp, Nablus District.
The testimony was taken by Iyad Haddad at Red Crescent headquarters, Ramallah, on 18 February 2004.