Wounded in the Field: Impeding Medical Treatment and Firing at Ambulances by IDF Soldiers in the Occupied Territories

In the first two weeks of March 2002, the IDF conducted a wide-scale action throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including entry of infantry and tanks into refugee camps. During this period, the IDF Spokesperson has frequently stated, as he has done since the al-Aqsa intifada began in September 2000, that the IDF does not injure innocent civilians and that it treats all humanitarian cases properly. For example, the IDF Spokesperson stated that, “Alongside the fighting, the soldiers are making every effort to avoid harming unarmed civilians, and avoiding as much damage as possible to their areas. The IDF provides humanitarian aid when needed and the forces have even been instructed to repair some of the damage the fighting has caused.” On 11 March 2002, the IDF Spokespersons stated that, “The IDF Spokesperson stresses that the IDF has no intention of harming the Palestinian population that is not involved in terrorist activities, and that the IDF will enable passage for humanitarian purposes.”

However, testimonies given to B’Tselem and information from other sources clearly indicate that these statements are baseless, and that the injury to the civilian population during these actions has been unprecedented since the occupation of the Occupied Territories, in 1967. The IDF has fi red at innocent civilians, including many children, caused extensive damage to private property, and more.

This report focusses on one aspect of the injury to the civilian population – prevention of medical treatment of the wounded and attacks on medical teams. For a period of two weeks, from 28 February – 13 March, IDF gunfire killed five Palestinian medical personnel who were on duty, wounded ten Red Crescent personnel, and damaged twelve ambulances, two of them totally.

The provision of medical treatment to the wounded and the immunity of medical personnel and hospitals are fundamental principles of the laws of war, which bind the combatants in all circumstances. Since the beginning of the current intifada, B’Tselem has documented many cases in which the IDF violated these principles. These violations have increased significantly since 28 February 2002. IDF soldiers have fi red at ambulances and prevented medical treatment to the sick and wounded, even leaving some of them in the fi eld, where they bled to death. Also, the hospitals have been unable to function because of the damage to the electricity, water, and telephone infrastructure, and the blocking of access to some of them. As a result, the hospitals have been unable to receive the wounded and sick, or obtain food and medicines. On 8 March, the International Red Cross published a statement in which it condemned IDF shooting at ambulances and medical teams. The statement emphasized that the Red Crescent ambulances that were hit were properly marked and that their movement had been coordinated with the Israeli authorities. The ICRC head in Israel, Rene Kosirnik, made uncharacteristically harsh comments on the injury to ambulances. He made his comments in a meeting with members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the French Senate who were visiting in Israel. According to Kosirnik, the IDF “deliberately and roughly” trampled on the principles of the Geneva Convention. He said that he felt “betrayed” by the IDF gunfire at ambulances after it had made a commitment to the Red Cross that the ambulances would be allowed to pass. “I was greatly shocked and hurt. I expected much more from the IDF. Nothing justifies such treatment.”

This report presents testimonies on IDF acts of shooting at ambulances and medical staff, preventing the sick and wounded to cross at checkpoints, and damaging hospitals. At the end, B’Tselem relates to Israeli officials’ contentions that seek to justify these acts. This report was published on 14 March 2000, during the IDF actions in refugee camps throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since then, the IDF began Operation Defensive Shield, in which IDF troops entered Palestinian villages and refugee camps. Reports given to B’Tselem indicate that the soldiers have committed acts of much greater severity and frequency than those described in this report in each of the relevant areas – preventing the evacuation of the wounded, forbidding ambulances to pass, and impeding hospitals from functioning properly. This report does not discuss these incidents