Testimonies

Ahmad Abu Dahuk, shepherd

My family has lived in a-Nabi Samwil since the early 1970s. I was born in the village and live there. I have raised sheep since I was a small boy and it is my, and my family's, sole source of income. I have 45 head.

On March 2008, the Israelis closed the Beit Hanina al-Balad road, which has caused me and others in the village a lot of suffering. Since then, we have been almost completely cut off from the outside world. The only way out of the village is through the Ramot checkpoint. Usually, crossing there depends on the police officer's mood. A lot of times they don't let us leave or enter the village in our own vehicles.

Last Sunday [6 July], around 3:45 P.M., I got to the checkpoint with two sacks of fodder I had bought in Beit Iksa. My flock eats one 45 kilo sack a day. I was driving my car, a Mitsubishi van. When I got to the checkpoint, the Border Police ordered me to stop. One of the policemen asked for my ID card and for the car documents. I gave them to him. After he checked the documents, he looked in the van and saw the two sacks of fodder. He said I was forbidden to cross because I had goods in the vehicle. I told him it was fodder for my flock and it was a small amount for private use, but he insisted that I turn around and not argue. I begged him to let me cross and go home, but he said threateningly that I had better go back to where I had come from.

Map of the area.

After losing hope that he would let me cross, I called one of B'Tselem's fieldworkers, Kareem Jubran. Mr. Jubran called the organization and reported that I was being delayed at the checkpoint.  About half an hour later, somebody from B'Tselem called me and said her name was Antigona. She told me she had spoken with Husam, an officer in the Civil Administration, and he said he would contact the police officers at the checkpoint and tell them to let me cross. Antigona gave me the officer's phone number so I could speak with him directly. A few minutes later, I called Husam and told him I was still waiting at the checkpoint. He asked me why I had called B'Tselem and not him directly. I said I didn't have his number or any connection with him. He promised he would help me. 15 minutes later, I called him again, and he told me angrily not to call him any more.

I waited a long time at the checkpoint, during which I called the B'Tselem fieldworker a few times. He told me that Antigona was handling the matter and was in touch with Husam. About an hour and a half later, I got a phone call from Husam, who asked for my full name and my ID number. I gave them to him. I waited in the van until 7:15 P.M. Every once in a while, policemen came over and ordered me to move away from the checkpoint. I was tired and very angry about the long delay at the checkpoint. It was hard for me to sit so long in the van because I suffer from a slipped disc and from a broken bone I once had in my right leg. It hurts a lot when I sit a long time without moving. I was also thirsty and didn't have anything to drink.

I hesitated to call Husam again because of his tone the previous time, but at 7:15, I called. I told him I was still waiting at the checkpoint. He was surprised, swore, and hung up. I went over to the policeman who had not let me cross and asked him if somebody from the Civil Administration had called to tell him to let me cross. He replied that nobody had called. I asked his name, and he replied that it was Oren something. I think his family name was Shado or Shadi.

Finally, I left there and drove about 18 kilometers to get home. I went from the checkpoint to Beit Iksa, then to Bidu, al-Jib, Bir Nabala, Beit Hanina al-Balad, and then along the hilly road to a-Nabi Samwil.

At 9:30 P.M., Husam called and asked me what happened. I told him they didn't let me cross, and that I was driving along a difficult and hilly road to get home. He said he was sorry about that.

I got home at 9:40, completely worn out and my back and right leg hurting.

Ahmad Ibrahim Ahmad Abu Dahuk, 31, married with two children, is a shepherd and a resident of a-Nabi Samwil in al-Quds District. His testimony was given to Kareem Jubran on 9 July 2008 at the witness's home.