Testimonies

M.S. (full name is on file at B'Tselem), merchant, resident of Ramallah.

I own a company, which has its offices in Ramallah, that deals in building materials. We receive merchandise from Israel - about seven truckloads a day. About two months ago, at the beginning of October, the Beituniya checkpoint, near the Ofer army camp, was closed until the end of November. This checkpoint had been used only for trucks carrying merchandise. While the Beituniya checkpoint was closed, trucks coming from Israel were forced to use the Qalandiya checkpoint.

Every morning at 7:00 A.M., I left for the Qalandiya checkpoint and stayed there until 10 P.M. I wanted 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 soldiers who were standing in the checkpoint's right lane, which was designated for vehicles. I noticed that one of the drivers gave a bribe to the soldiers. A truck driver gave a soldier a telecard (a pre-paid calling card for a mobile phone), and the soldier let him pass. Later on, I heard a few people call the soldier who had taken the bribe by the name Idan. He was tall, heavyset, wore glasses, and looked about thirty years old.

The same day, I spoke to a man who came to the checkpoint regularly. He was a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem who mediated between the truck drivers and merchants and the soldiers at the checkpoints. He was thin, medium-height, dark-skinned, and looked about thirty-five years old. After 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: one transporting sand, one transporting wood, and the last transporting tiles. I told him that I was willing to offer three telecards. He immediately went up to the soldier, talked to him, and came back and told me that the soldier wanted four telecards. I agreed, and the mediator asked me for the trucks' license plate numbers, the color of the trucks, and what they were carrying. I gave him the information and three hundred shekels, which was the cost of four telecards.

I only used the mediator the first time. After that, 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, which usually was three or so. When a different group of soldiers was scheduled for duty, Idan asked one of the soldiers on duty to let my trucks cross. That way, my trucks weren't delayed. Normally, if I didn't recognize one of the soldiers, I used the mediator. The bribery continued until 20 October 2003, when I wanted five of my trucks to cross. Idan demanded a mobile phone with a camera. Because the phone was so expensive, I refused. He did not let my trucks cross. As a result, I had to leave the trucks outside the checkpoint area, in Atarot.

The next day, I asked the drivers to drive the trucks up to the checkpoint. I managed to get them across with the help of a telecard bribe, but this time I gave it to another soldier who took bribes. I prefer not to go into detail about this soldier. Another time, I bribed yet another soldier at the Qalandiya checkpoint, giving him a cheap cellular phone. I also prefer not to mention that soldier's name or describe him. I don't want to give the names of these two soldiers because they treated me much better than Idan did. Despite the bribes I gave Idan, he delayed my trucks for hours, while the other soldiers let them cross quicker.

During the 'Eid al-Fitr holiday, at the end of November, the IDF reopened the Beituniya checkpoint to trucks, and I had my trucks cross there without having to bribe anyone. I know other companies that bribed soldiers at the checkpoint in order to enable their goods to cross. Every day, thirty to forty trucks cross through.

M., (the full name is no file at B'Tselem) merchant, is a resident of Ramallah. The testimony was taken by Iyad Haddad at the Ramallah industrial zone on 16 December 2003.