Introduction
Since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada,
Israel has imposed on Palestinians within the West Bank restrictions on
movement that are unprecedented in scope and severity. As of early November
2003, the IDF had set up fifty-six staffed checkpoints in the West Bank,
as well as 607 physical roadblocks that prevent the passage of motor vehicles
- 457 dirt piles, 94 concrete blocks, and 56 trenches.1
In addition, Palestinians are forbidden to travel on most of the main roads
in the West Bank.
The siege policy has made it almost impossible for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move around in the region. Israeli officials repeatedly emphasize that the IDF does not harm the civilian population that does not participate in the hostilities. However, the policy is directed against them and affects all aspects of Palestinian life. Over the past three years, going to work, school, or to visit relatives has become an arduous task, subject to physical blockades and staffed checkpoints at which the resident must explain the reason and destination of their travel.
The sweeping restrictions on Palestinian movement within the West Bank has severely impaired their access to medical treatment. The emergency medical system in the West Bank has difficulty functioning and in many cases ambulances are unable to reach their destination.
The right of every person to receive medical treatment, and the protection of the sick, wounded, and medical personnel who treat them are clearly enshrined in international humanitarian law and international human rights law. To ensure the realization of this right, international humanitarian law grants immunity to the sick, wounded, and medical teams involved in transporting them.2
However, international humanitarian law states two reservations to these rules. Firstly, during hostilities, it is permissible to delay ambulances from entering a certain area to evacuate the wounded.3 Secondly, when ambulances, medical teams, sick, or wounded participate in hostile acts, they lose their immunity and may be delayed and even harmed.4
The right to medical treatment is also enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, of 1966, which states:
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
The obligations included with the covenant include, at the minimum, the obligation to refrain from impeding the exercise of this right.5
The right to medical treatment cannot be exercised without freedom of movement. The right to freedom of movement is enshrined in Article 12.1 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of 1966. In Article 12.3, the covenant allows for restrictions on movement where they are provided by law, to the extent the restrictions are necessary, and where there are no other ways to achieve the said objective.
This report deals with the IDF's breach of international law. It describes the delay of medical teams at checkpoints, the humiliation and attacks they are subjected to by the IDF, and the illegal use of Palestinian ambulances by IDF soldiers. The cases described occurred between November 2002 and November 2003. The report does not address the evacuation of individuals who were wounded under fire.6
Footnotes:
1 These figures are taken from the Website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (www.reliefweb.int/hic-opt).
2 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949, Articles 16-17; First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, of 1977, Article 10. Articles 18 and 20 of the Protocol deal with the protection granted to hospitals.
3 First Additional Protocol, Article 15.
4 Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 20. See also, Jean S. Pictet, Commentary, Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross, 1858) 161.
5 Article 12.1 of the Covenant. For further discussion on this subject, see B'Tselem, Civilians Under Siege: Restrictions on Freedom of Movement as Collective Punishment, January 2001.
6 On this subject, see B'Tselem, Wounded in the Field: Impeding Medical Treatment and Firing at Ambulances by IDF Soldiers in the Occupied Territories, March 2002; Physicians for Human Rights, Medicine Under Attack: Critical Damage Inflicted on Medical Services in the Occupied Territories: Interim Report, April 2002.
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