Israeli Checkpoint - Checkpoints and Medical Care

Checkpoints and Medical Care

According to Israeli Human Rights group B'Tselem, from 2000 to 2009 there have been 72 Palestinians deaths related to delays receiving medical care at checkpoints.

Medical vehicles might be stopped and are not immune to searches by Israeli soldiers at flying checkpoints. For example, in March 2002, an explosive device was found in a Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance. The Red Crescent expressed shock at the incident, and began an internal investigation. On January 11, 2004, a PRCS ambulance not carrying patients was stopped and searched at a flying checkpoint near the village of Jit. The ambulance was escorted by military jeep to the Qadomin bus station where after 10 minutes the ambulance crew got their IDs back and were allowed to continue working. In another case, on the same day, an ambulance transporting a diabetic patient to the hospital in Tulkarm was stopped, searched, and allowed to proceed after the companion of the patient was arrested.

Some checkpoints between Palestinian towns in the West Bank require permits for Palestinians to cross them and exceptions are not always made for medical emergencies. In 2008, an Israeli soldier in command of a checkpoint outside Nablus was relieved from duty and imprisoned for two weeks after he refused to allow a Palestinian woman in labour to pass through. The woman gave birth to a stillborn baby at the checkpoint. In contrast, a small number of Palestinian diplomats and other individuals are given VIP cards by the Israeli army that effectively allow the carriers free passage through checkpoints.