19 oct 2001
Israeli tanks move into Bethlehem
Violence intensified across the West Bank today, when Israeli tanks and troops moved into Palestinian territory in raids aimed at thwarting revenge attacks for the killing of a local militia leader.
One Palestinian policeman was killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and a 13-year-old boy was blown up by an Israeli tank shell he had been playing with.
The escalation of violence threatened to undermine the latest peace initiative put forward by America and Britain at a time when they are trying to retain Arab support for the bombardment of Afghanistan.
Trouble flared late yesterday when a local leader of the Tanzim militia in Bethlehem, Atef Abayat, and two colleagues were killed in a car bomb attack blamed on Israel.
An hour after the bombing, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the Jewish neighbourhood of Gilo.
Israel sent tanks and infantry in to crush the gunmen, sparking firefights with armed Palestinians.
Thousands of Palestinians filled Manger square in Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus, shouting slogans and firing rifles in the air to mark Abayat's funeral procession.
A local Palestinian leader, Kamel Hamad, promised further violence "as long as there is one soldier or one settler in our land".
Doctors said that seven Palestinians had been wounded, three critically, by Israeli gunfire on Beit Jalla, Bethlehem and another town, Beit Sahour. Tanks penetrated deep into Bethlehem and Israeli snipers took up positions on the rooftops.
Dozens of buildings were damaged by machine gun and shell fire from the tanks, witnesses said.
An Israeli foreign ministry official, Gideon Meir, said that the incursion would last "as long as there will be shooting from Beit Jalla toward Jerusalem".
The deployment followed a day of violence in the Middle East yesterday, when six Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in the wake of the assassination of the rightwing Israeli cabinet minister, Rehavam Zeevi.
The tit-for-tat killings have claimed the lives of almost 700 Palestinians and almost 200 Israelis in the past year.
The latest victims included a Palestinian security officer who was killed in the West Bank town of Ramallah today during a firefight with Israeli soldiers.
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in Gaza when a shell he was playing with exploded, doctors said. They said that an Israeli tank had fired the shell at the Khan Younis refugee camp during the night.
Washington was quick to denounce the latest wave of killings.
A spokesman for the US state department, Philip Reeker, urged Israel to show restraint after the killing of Mr Zeevi, arguing that an escalation of violence would surely derail nascent peace initiatives.
"That's exactly what the perpetrators of these acts want to see happen," he said.
It is exactly what America does not want to see played out on television screens around the world as it tries to shore up shaky Arab support for its war in Afghanistan.
Israeli tanks move into Bethlehem
Violence intensified across the West Bank today, when Israeli tanks and troops moved into Palestinian territory in raids aimed at thwarting revenge attacks for the killing of a local militia leader.
One Palestinian policeman was killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and a 13-year-old boy was blown up by an Israeli tank shell he had been playing with.
The escalation of violence threatened to undermine the latest peace initiative put forward by America and Britain at a time when they are trying to retain Arab support for the bombardment of Afghanistan.
Trouble flared late yesterday when a local leader of the Tanzim militia in Bethlehem, Atef Abayat, and two colleagues were killed in a car bomb attack blamed on Israel.
An hour after the bombing, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the Jewish neighbourhood of Gilo.
Israel sent tanks and infantry in to crush the gunmen, sparking firefights with armed Palestinians.
Thousands of Palestinians filled Manger square in Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus, shouting slogans and firing rifles in the air to mark Abayat's funeral procession.
A local Palestinian leader, Kamel Hamad, promised further violence "as long as there is one soldier or one settler in our land".
Doctors said that seven Palestinians had been wounded, three critically, by Israeli gunfire on Beit Jalla, Bethlehem and another town, Beit Sahour. Tanks penetrated deep into Bethlehem and Israeli snipers took up positions on the rooftops.
Dozens of buildings were damaged by machine gun and shell fire from the tanks, witnesses said.
An Israeli foreign ministry official, Gideon Meir, said that the incursion would last "as long as there will be shooting from Beit Jalla toward Jerusalem".
The deployment followed a day of violence in the Middle East yesterday, when six Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in the wake of the assassination of the rightwing Israeli cabinet minister, Rehavam Zeevi.
The tit-for-tat killings have claimed the lives of almost 700 Palestinians and almost 200 Israelis in the past year.
The latest victims included a Palestinian security officer who was killed in the West Bank town of Ramallah today during a firefight with Israeli soldiers.
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in Gaza when a shell he was playing with exploded, doctors said. They said that an Israeli tank had fired the shell at the Khan Younis refugee camp during the night.
Washington was quick to denounce the latest wave of killings.
A spokesman for the US state department, Philip Reeker, urged Israel to show restraint after the killing of Mr Zeevi, arguing that an escalation of violence would surely derail nascent peace initiatives.
"That's exactly what the perpetrators of these acts want to see happen," he said.
It is exactly what America does not want to see played out on television screens around the world as it tries to shore up shaky Arab support for its war in Afghanistan.
24 oct 2001
Death toll rises as Israel targets suspects
Israel today continued to defy US calls to pull troops out of Palestinian-controlled towns, with Israeli soldiers allegedly killing at least seven Palestinians and arresting four more in an overnight raid on a West Bank village.
Palestinian witnesses said the army had opened fire without provocation in the village of Beit Reema last night, leaving seven dead. The Israeli military said armed Palestinians had opened fire on soldiers who had returned fire. An Israeli radio report quoted military sources saying that 10 Palestinians were dead.
Israeli forces entered Beit Reema, north of the town of Ramallah, after midnight. Palestinian security sources, requesting anonymity, said that during the operation, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians suspected of involvement in the assassination of the Israeli tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi, on October 17. The Israeli military would not comment.
Palestinians complained that Israeli forces did not allow their ambulances to enter Beit Reema to evacuate the wounded. Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Rafowicz said the ambulances were banned "because the operation was still in progress".
Troops entered two West Bank villages today despite a request from the country's closest ally, the US president, George Bush, that Israel withdraw from Palestinian areas "as quickly as possible".
Israel launched its incursions last week, in response to the assassination of Zeevi by Palestinian militants. Israeli tanks have taken up positions in six West Bank towns.
In the northern town of Tulkarem, three Palestinians were killed early today. Palestinians said Israeli soldiers ambushed the three men from a cemetery. The Israeli military said the soldiers spotted armed Palestinians who were about to open fire, and shot them.
Also in Tulkarem, an army bulldozer demolished the home of Raed Karni, a local militia leader accused by Israel of involvement in killing five Israelis.
Just outside Jerusalem, in the West Bank town of Abu Dis, a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, doctors said. The 25-year-old was throwing firebombs at soldiers when he was shot in the face and eye with rubber-coated steel bullets, Israel army radio reported.
Israel was sending some signals that it might pull back in the coming days, but continued to insist that first the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, must disarm militant groups, arrest the assassins of an Israeli cabinet minister and turn them over to Israel. The Palestinians have said they would not extradite suspects.
Palestinian officials, requesting anonymity, said security chiefs from the two sides were in contact, a possible first step toward ending the incursions.
Mr Arafat, meanwhile, charged that Israel was ignoring US requests. "This Israeli position is very dangerous one," he said.
Israeli media today quoted defence officials as saying troops might start pulling out of the Palestinian cities in two days, to comply with US demands without appearing to cave in.
Responding to the report, cabinet minister Tzipi Livni, who acts as a government spokeswoman, said: "Israel has no interest in staying in, except to carry out military operations."
Death toll rises as Israel targets suspects
Israel today continued to defy US calls to pull troops out of Palestinian-controlled towns, with Israeli soldiers allegedly killing at least seven Palestinians and arresting four more in an overnight raid on a West Bank village.
Palestinian witnesses said the army had opened fire without provocation in the village of Beit Reema last night, leaving seven dead. The Israeli military said armed Palestinians had opened fire on soldiers who had returned fire. An Israeli radio report quoted military sources saying that 10 Palestinians were dead.
Israeli forces entered Beit Reema, north of the town of Ramallah, after midnight. Palestinian security sources, requesting anonymity, said that during the operation, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians suspected of involvement in the assassination of the Israeli tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi, on October 17. The Israeli military would not comment.
Palestinians complained that Israeli forces did not allow their ambulances to enter Beit Reema to evacuate the wounded. Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Rafowicz said the ambulances were banned "because the operation was still in progress".
Troops entered two West Bank villages today despite a request from the country's closest ally, the US president, George Bush, that Israel withdraw from Palestinian areas "as quickly as possible".
Israel launched its incursions last week, in response to the assassination of Zeevi by Palestinian militants. Israeli tanks have taken up positions in six West Bank towns.
In the northern town of Tulkarem, three Palestinians were killed early today. Palestinians said Israeli soldiers ambushed the three men from a cemetery. The Israeli military said the soldiers spotted armed Palestinians who were about to open fire, and shot them.
Also in Tulkarem, an army bulldozer demolished the home of Raed Karni, a local militia leader accused by Israel of involvement in killing five Israelis.
Just outside Jerusalem, in the West Bank town of Abu Dis, a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, doctors said. The 25-year-old was throwing firebombs at soldiers when he was shot in the face and eye with rubber-coated steel bullets, Israel army radio reported.
Israel was sending some signals that it might pull back in the coming days, but continued to insist that first the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, must disarm militant groups, arrest the assassins of an Israeli cabinet minister and turn them over to Israel. The Palestinians have said they would not extradite suspects.
Palestinian officials, requesting anonymity, said security chiefs from the two sides were in contact, a possible first step toward ending the incursions.
Mr Arafat, meanwhile, charged that Israel was ignoring US requests. "This Israeli position is very dangerous one," he said.
Israeli media today quoted defence officials as saying troops might start pulling out of the Palestinian cities in two days, to comply with US demands without appearing to cave in.
Responding to the report, cabinet minister Tzipi Livni, who acts as a government spokeswoman, said: "Israel has no interest in staying in, except to carry out military operations."
12 nov 2001
Israeli troops kill one in West Bank raid
Israeli troops backed by tanks raided a Palestinian village in the West Bank today and shot dead an Islamic militant suspected of killing two Jewish settlers, residents and paramedics said.
Before dawn, soldiers entered Tel, which is just south of Nablus in Palestinian-controlled territory, and surrounded the house of Muhammed Reihan, a senior member of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Reihan had been on Israel's wanted list since 1998 for the killing of two residents from the nearby Jewish settlement of Yitzhar.
According to his uncle, Said, Reihan picked up a rifle and went outside. The family heard shots, but did not know who fired first. A doctor said Reihan was killed by large-calibre bullets.
The army confirmed that a Palestinian was killed in the raid, and said troops were arresting those suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
The troops also arrested around 20 residents of the village of Tel, with Voice of Israel, a government-sponsored radio station, describing the detainees as among Israel's wanted.
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Yunis, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy critically wounded in the head on Friday died of his injuries early today. Witnesses said at the time of the shooting that Israeli troops opened fire without provocation as he walked in the street.
The army said the youth appeared to soldiers to be at least 16 years old and was carrying a large bag as he tampered with a security fence in an area of recent infiltrations. Soldiers warned him and then shot toward his lower body, the army said.
Meanwhile today, the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, sent a message to Arab and Muslim leaders, asking them to support the Palestinians' uprising against Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this week.
Mr Arafat said the Palestinians were determined not to end their struggle against Israel, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting from the message. Only a day earlier, Mr Arafat had pledged in a speech before the United Nations that he would make "every possible effort" to make peace.
Yesterday, an Israeli civilian was shot dead by a Palestinian militant in a village in central Israel and a Palestinian was killed in Bethlehem while preparing a bomb. The Palestinian was a member of the Islamic Jihad group, which has killed scores of Israelis in bomb attacks.
The violence came as the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, met the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, in New York. Mr Peres has been working on a new peace initiative that, in a first phase, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the areas already under Palestinian control.
Mr Peres discussed the plan on Saturday with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, whose stated positions contrast with elements of the plan.
Mr Peres, who was in New York for the UN general assembly, said he didn't present his plan to Mr Powell since it hasn't been approved by the government.
Israeli troops kill one in West Bank raid
Israeli troops backed by tanks raided a Palestinian village in the West Bank today and shot dead an Islamic militant suspected of killing two Jewish settlers, residents and paramedics said.
Before dawn, soldiers entered Tel, which is just south of Nablus in Palestinian-controlled territory, and surrounded the house of Muhammed Reihan, a senior member of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Reihan had been on Israel's wanted list since 1998 for the killing of two residents from the nearby Jewish settlement of Yitzhar.
According to his uncle, Said, Reihan picked up a rifle and went outside. The family heard shots, but did not know who fired first. A doctor said Reihan was killed by large-calibre bullets.
The army confirmed that a Palestinian was killed in the raid, and said troops were arresting those suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
The troops also arrested around 20 residents of the village of Tel, with Voice of Israel, a government-sponsored radio station, describing the detainees as among Israel's wanted.
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Yunis, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy critically wounded in the head on Friday died of his injuries early today. Witnesses said at the time of the shooting that Israeli troops opened fire without provocation as he walked in the street.
The army said the youth appeared to soldiers to be at least 16 years old and was carrying a large bag as he tampered with a security fence in an area of recent infiltrations. Soldiers warned him and then shot toward his lower body, the army said.
Meanwhile today, the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, sent a message to Arab and Muslim leaders, asking them to support the Palestinians' uprising against Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this week.
Mr Arafat said the Palestinians were determined not to end their struggle against Israel, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting from the message. Only a day earlier, Mr Arafat had pledged in a speech before the United Nations that he would make "every possible effort" to make peace.
Yesterday, an Israeli civilian was shot dead by a Palestinian militant in a village in central Israel and a Palestinian was killed in Bethlehem while preparing a bomb. The Palestinian was a member of the Islamic Jihad group, which has killed scores of Israelis in bomb attacks.
The violence came as the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, met the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, in New York. Mr Peres has been working on a new peace initiative that, in a first phase, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the areas already under Palestinian control.
Mr Peres discussed the plan on Saturday with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, whose stated positions contrast with elements of the plan.
Mr Peres, who was in New York for the UN general assembly, said he didn't present his plan to Mr Powell since it hasn't been approved by the government.
13 nov 2001
IDF detain dialysis patient Mouhammad Kheiri Zaban, causing his death
Mahmoud Yaqub, Zaban's taxi driver
I live in Kafr Rumman, which is near 'Anabta. The house of the late Muhammad Kheiri is about two hundred meters from my house. I have a taxi and work for a taxi agency in 'Anabta, and sometimes I drive people privately. Now I am working primarily in and around Tulkarm. I can't get to Nablus because of the army checkpoint at Deir Sharaf, which prevents cars from driving from the Tulkarm area toward Nablus. So, when I have passengers who want to go to Nablus, I drop them off at the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, and they walk about three hundred meters to the other side of the checkpoint and get into another taxi, which takes them to Nablus. Soldiers at the checkpoint often do not even let pedestrians cross, and order them to turn around and go back. I do not know if they have instructions to do that or if they act that way on their own. In any event, the result is that passengers wanting to get to Nablus can never be sure if they will reach their destination.
Sometimes I drive sick people, particularly dialysis patients, who want to go to Nablus. Generally, the soldiers let them cross the checkpoint by foot. Once, about six weeks ago, they even let me cross with my car to transport two dialysis patients. That time, I was taking the seventy-year-old wife of Kheiri Sobuch. Muhammad Duabeh, a resident of 'Anabta, was also in the car. Both of them had to get to al-Watani Hospital for dialysis treatment.
When we reached the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, we showed the soldiers the medical documents of the two patients. After waiting for thirty minutes, the soldiers let me cross and continue to Nablus. On the way back, after the patients had been treated, the soldiers at that checkpoint did not let us cross. I went to the checkpoint commander and showed him the medical documents of the two patients. He told me to go back to the hospital to obtain a letter confirming that the two had indeed undergone dialysis treatment that day. I went back to Nablus and obtained the letter, but when I returned to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, it was already 8:00 P.M. (I had left 'Anabta at noon), I couldn't find the same officer. I showed the letter and the medical documents to one of the soldiers at the checkpoint. He took the documents and told me to wait. We waited for about an hour and a half, and then they let us pass.
In the past, I took the late Muhammad Kheiri dozens of times back and forth from Tulkarm to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint. We would usually start out at 5:00 A.M. I would drop him off at the checkpoint, and he would walk up to the soldiers, show them his medical documents, and cross on foot to the other side. From there, he would get into a taxi that would drive him to Nablus. I always waited at the checkpoint to make sure that he crossed the checkpoint and got into another taxi.
On Tuesday [13 November], at 7:30 A.M., Muhammad's son asked me to take his father to the hospital in Nablus. He said his father was in serious condition and that I should hurry. Within five minutes, I was at his house and he got into the taxi. When I saw him, I realized that he was indeed in serious condition. He was all swollen and had trouble breathing. While on our way to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, he constantly complained of pain, and often put his hand on his head and scratched himself.
I drove toward the Deir Sharaf checkpoint via the dirt road that bypasses the roadblock near Ramin. Because of that roadblock, which is composed of piles of dirt and concrete blocks, we have to drive along dirt paths, which adds another twenty minutes or so to the trip. After about thirty minutes, I got onto the main road and continued toward the Deir Sharaf checkpoint. After about five hundred meters, at the junction with the Kedumim-Shavey Shomron bypass road, I saw an army jeep. Two soldiers were inside and another was standing on the road next to the jeep. When I was about fifty meters from the jeep, the soldier signalled me to stop. I stopped and asked Muhammad to take his medical documents and my identity card to the soldier and ask him to let us pass so that we could get to the hospital in Nablus. Mouhammad walked over to the soldier, with the documents in his hands. It was apparent that his illness even made it hard for him to walk. The soldier took the documents and told him to get back into the taxi and wait.
The soldier handed the documents to one of the soldiers who was sitting inside the jeep. In the meantime, we waited in the taxi. Mouhammad was constantly complaining about the pain, and I soon felt that he was going to die from the great pain he was in. After waiting for thirty minutes, and because of Mouhammad's serious medical condition, I decided to get out of the taxi and ask the soldiers to let me pass, or to give me back my identity card and Mouhammad's medical documents so that I could take him to the hospital in Tulkarm. But the second that I opened the door, the soldier aimed his weapon at me and ordered me to stay inside the car. I shouted at him in Arabic that the passenger is in very serious condition and is liable to die, but he motioned to me to stay in the car. I had no choice but to do as he said.
Five minutes later, the soldier who was standing outside got into the jeep, and the three of them drove toward Kedumim with our identity cards and the medical documents. I didn't know what to do. I thought that they might arrange it so that we could pass and would return in a few minutes, so I waited with the hope that they would return quickly. Mouhammad continued to complain that he was in pain. I was in a quandary. I did not want to leave without out identity cards and Mouhammad's medical documents. Because of the many army checkpoints in the area, traveling without our identity cards would have been dangerous. Besides, I hoped that the soldiers would return in a few minutes.
About two hours passed before the jeep returned. It was already 11:00 A.M. One of the soldiers got out and motioned that one of us should go over to him. I asked Mouhammad to summon his strength and go to them, hoping that they would see how bad his condition was and would let us pass. Mouhammad barely was able to get to them. When he did, they gave him the documents and told him to turn around and go back. I heard him beg and tell them that he is dying. The soldier told him to leave immediately. Mouhammad got back into the taxi, and I turned around and rushed to the hospital in Tulkarm [note: were dialysis is unavailable]. As we drove, I felt that he was going to die in the taxi. It took an hour to get to the hospital. I took Mouhammad into the emergency room. By now, his condition was critical. He received preliminary treatment in the emergency room. The physician told me that he had to go immediately to al-Watani Hospital, in Nablus, for dialysis treatment. He said that Mouhammad would die if he did not receive the treatment.
Mouhammad got into the hospital ambulance, and a physician accompanied him. The hospital's director contacted the District Coordination Office to coordinate the passage of the ambulance. At this stage, I left the hospital. At night, I was told that Mouhammad had died after arriving at the hospital in Nablus.
Now I feel at blame because I can only receive incoming calls on my mobile phone, and I don't have a radio transmitter. If I could have reported to the taxi agency about our problem, I could have saved his life. But, unfortunately, that was not the case.
Mahmoud Sami Mahmoud Yaqub, age 31, is married with three children, and a resident of Kafr Rumman. He works as a taxi driver. The testimony was taken by Raslan Mahagna, onthe 15 November 2001 at the home of the witness.
I live in Kafr Rumman, which is near 'Anabta. The house of the late Muhammad Kheiri is about two hundred meters from my house. I have a taxi and work for a taxi agency in 'Anabta, and sometimes I drive people privately. Now I am working primarily in and around Tulkarm. I can't get to Nablus because of the army checkpoint at Deir Sharaf, which prevents cars from driving from the Tulkarm area toward Nablus. So, when I have passengers who want to go to Nablus, I drop them off at the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, and they walk about three hundred meters to the other side of the checkpoint and get into another taxi, which takes them to Nablus. Soldiers at the checkpoint often do not even let pedestrians cross, and order them to turn around and go back. I do not know if they have instructions to do that or if they act that way on their own. In any event, the result is that passengers wanting to get to Nablus can never be sure if they will reach their destination.
Sometimes I drive sick people, particularly dialysis patients, who want to go to Nablus. Generally, the soldiers let them cross the checkpoint by foot. Once, about six weeks ago, they even let me cross with my car to transport two dialysis patients. That time, I was taking the seventy-year-old wife of Kheiri Sobuch. Muhammad Duabeh, a resident of 'Anabta, was also in the car. Both of them had to get to al-Watani Hospital for dialysis treatment.
When we reached the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, we showed the soldiers the medical documents of the two patients. After waiting for thirty minutes, the soldiers let me cross and continue to Nablus. On the way back, after the patients had been treated, the soldiers at that checkpoint did not let us cross. I went to the checkpoint commander and showed him the medical documents of the two patients. He told me to go back to the hospital to obtain a letter confirming that the two had indeed undergone dialysis treatment that day. I went back to Nablus and obtained the letter, but when I returned to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, it was already 8:00 P.M. (I had left 'Anabta at noon), I couldn't find the same officer. I showed the letter and the medical documents to one of the soldiers at the checkpoint. He took the documents and told me to wait. We waited for about an hour and a half, and then they let us pass.
In the past, I took the late Muhammad Kheiri dozens of times back and forth from Tulkarm to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint. We would usually start out at 5:00 A.M. I would drop him off at the checkpoint, and he would walk up to the soldiers, show them his medical documents, and cross on foot to the other side. From there, he would get into a taxi that would drive him to Nablus. I always waited at the checkpoint to make sure that he crossed the checkpoint and got into another taxi.
On Tuesday [13 November], at 7:30 A.M., Muhammad's son asked me to take his father to the hospital in Nablus. He said his father was in serious condition and that I should hurry. Within five minutes, I was at his house and he got into the taxi. When I saw him, I realized that he was indeed in serious condition. He was all swollen and had trouble breathing. While on our way to the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, he constantly complained of pain, and often put his hand on his head and scratched himself.
I drove toward the Deir Sharaf checkpoint via the dirt road that bypasses the roadblock near Ramin. Because of that roadblock, which is composed of piles of dirt and concrete blocks, we have to drive along dirt paths, which adds another twenty minutes or so to the trip. After about thirty minutes, I got onto the main road and continued toward the Deir Sharaf checkpoint. After about five hundred meters, at the junction with the Kedumim-Shavey Shomron bypass road, I saw an army jeep. Two soldiers were inside and another was standing on the road next to the jeep. When I was about fifty meters from the jeep, the soldier signalled me to stop. I stopped and asked Muhammad to take his medical documents and my identity card to the soldier and ask him to let us pass so that we could get to the hospital in Nablus. Mouhammad walked over to the soldier, with the documents in his hands. It was apparent that his illness even made it hard for him to walk. The soldier took the documents and told him to get back into the taxi and wait.
The soldier handed the documents to one of the soldiers who was sitting inside the jeep. In the meantime, we waited in the taxi. Mouhammad was constantly complaining about the pain, and I soon felt that he was going to die from the great pain he was in. After waiting for thirty minutes, and because of Mouhammad's serious medical condition, I decided to get out of the taxi and ask the soldiers to let me pass, or to give me back my identity card and Mouhammad's medical documents so that I could take him to the hospital in Tulkarm. But the second that I opened the door, the soldier aimed his weapon at me and ordered me to stay inside the car. I shouted at him in Arabic that the passenger is in very serious condition and is liable to die, but he motioned to me to stay in the car. I had no choice but to do as he said.
Five minutes later, the soldier who was standing outside got into the jeep, and the three of them drove toward Kedumim with our identity cards and the medical documents. I didn't know what to do. I thought that they might arrange it so that we could pass and would return in a few minutes, so I waited with the hope that they would return quickly. Mouhammad continued to complain that he was in pain. I was in a quandary. I did not want to leave without out identity cards and Mouhammad's medical documents. Because of the many army checkpoints in the area, traveling without our identity cards would have been dangerous. Besides, I hoped that the soldiers would return in a few minutes.
About two hours passed before the jeep returned. It was already 11:00 A.M. One of the soldiers got out and motioned that one of us should go over to him. I asked Mouhammad to summon his strength and go to them, hoping that they would see how bad his condition was and would let us pass. Mouhammad barely was able to get to them. When he did, they gave him the documents and told him to turn around and go back. I heard him beg and tell them that he is dying. The soldier told him to leave immediately. Mouhammad got back into the taxi, and I turned around and rushed to the hospital in Tulkarm [note: were dialysis is unavailable]. As we drove, I felt that he was going to die in the taxi. It took an hour to get to the hospital. I took Mouhammad into the emergency room. By now, his condition was critical. He received preliminary treatment in the emergency room. The physician told me that he had to go immediately to al-Watani Hospital, in Nablus, for dialysis treatment. He said that Mouhammad would die if he did not receive the treatment.
Mouhammad got into the hospital ambulance, and a physician accompanied him. The hospital's director contacted the District Coordination Office to coordinate the passage of the ambulance. At this stage, I left the hospital. At night, I was told that Mouhammad had died after arriving at the hospital in Nablus.
Now I feel at blame because I can only receive incoming calls on my mobile phone, and I don't have a radio transmitter. If I could have reported to the taxi agency about our problem, I could have saved his life. But, unfortunately, that was not the case.
Mahmoud Sami Mahmoud Yaqub, age 31, is married with three children, and a resident of Kafr Rumman. He works as a taxi driver. The testimony was taken by Raslan Mahagna, onthe 15 November 2001 at the home of the witness.