Mu'atasem 'Omar, cousin of the deceased

Last Saturday [17 February], a friend of 'Adel 'Omar, my cousin, asked him to help free a vehicle that was stuck in a field west of 'Azzun 'Atmah. 'Adel called me and Qusai 'Ali, our friend, and, at around 9:40 at night, the three of us went by tractor to the site to tow the vehicle to the garage in the village. Qusai drove, I sat on his right, and 'Adel sat on his left.

We got to the place where the vehicle was supposed to be, but we didn't find it, so we turned around and drove back. The tractor's lights didn't work, and when we were on the road, the tractor drove onto a boulder and flipped. Qusai and I fell under the tractor, in the space next to the gear shift, and we weren't hurt at all. 'Adel fell under the wing of the tractor and was crushed. We couldn't free him. Qusai went to the village to bring a heavy tractor that could lift the tractor off of 'Adel. About ten minutes later, the heavy tractor arrived and lifted the tractor off of 'Adel. Qusai had come back in his car, and we pulled 'Adel out from underneath the tractor and put him into Qusai's car.

We drove to the 'Azzun 'Atmah gate [of the separation barrier]. We got there about 10:20 at night. The gate closes every night at ten o'clock and is reopened at six in the morning. This is the only gate for 'Azzun 'Atmah, and there is no other way to leave the village. We got out of the car and called to the soldiers who were in the guard tower. I shouted to them in Hebrew that we had a person in the car who had been injured in an accident and that we had to rush him to the hospital. Qusai, who speaks Hebrew better than I do, explained 'Adel's condition to the soldier. Through a small window in the tower, one of the soldiers ordered us to move away from the gate. Qusai and I insisted and again asked the soldiers to open the gate so that we could take 'Adel to the hospital.

Map of the separation barrier in the area.

'Adel was lying in the back seat of the car. I moved his legs to prove that it was an emergency. I saw that he was breathing. I know that the lighting at the gate and the light projectors from the tower made it possible for the soldiers to see inside the car. We waited and insisted [that they open the gate]. We called again and again to the soldiers to open the gate. After about an hour and five minutes had passed, three soldiers came out of the tower and went over to the car. They saw 'Adel and realized that he had to get to the hospital. One of the soldiers asked what happened. We explained about the accident, and one of the soldiers opened the gate. All told, the soldiers delayed us for about an hour and ten minutes.

We rushed to al-Aqsa Hospital , in Qalqiliya. On the way, I saw that 'Adel was still breathing. We got there in 20 minutes, arriving at 11:50. The hospital staff took 'Adel to the trauma department. The doctors and nurses examined him, but he was already dead. They found that he had suffered broken bones and internal bleeding in his chest. 'Adel was buried the following day, Sunday, February 18, 2007.

Mu'atasem 'Ibrahim 'Abdallah 'Omar, 21, is a laborer, and a resident of 'Azzun 'Atmah in Qalqiliya district. His testimony was given to 'Abd al-Karim Sa'adi in Beit Amin on 21 February 2007.