Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special
Studies (C.S.S)
Special Information Bulletin January 2004

The use of ambulances as a "taxi service" for residents of the
Palestinian Authority administered territories [1]
www.intelligence.org.il/eng/tr/amb_1b_04.htm for illustrations

The Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam published an article (January 7, 2004) on the
use of ambulances as a taxi service.
The above is a photograph from Al-Ayyam's archive, displayed next to the
article.

[1] Supplement to our December 2003 Special Information Bulletin on the
misuse of ambulances by the Palestinians.

Following is the English translation of an article authored by Samir
al-Sha'ib, published in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Ayyam on January
7, 2004:

It is not at all uncommon to see an ambulance arriving from Nablus, Jenin,
or any other Palestinian city, waiting by one of the Palestinian government
offices or one of the banks or the non-governmental institutions in Ramallah
in order to provide transportation to some of the workers employed at those
establishments. Some of them sit by the driver, maintaining that they are
related to or friends with the patient; ultimately, the emergency turns out
to be a case of a worker acting out a make-believe malady just to get to
work on time.

In many cases, the Palestinian ambulances have become "taxi cabs" that
provide a small number of passengers with service from the cities of the
northern West Bank to Ramallah. Such service becomes increasingly in demand
as tighter military closure is enforced on Palestinian cities in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip. The aim is to evade the [thorough] searches at the
military checkpoints through which, more often than not, Palestinian
civilian vehicles or even pedestrians are not allowed. The situation has
given many [Palestinian] residents who work outside their home towns reason
to use ambulances to get to their workplaces-this is especially true on
Sundays, since the worker [employed] in Ramallah returns to his home in
Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm or Qalqilya only on weekends [that is, Fridays and
Saturdays].

However, given that some, if not all, passengers need to acquire medical
authorizations from governmental or private hospitals, it is not as easy as
it seems to benefit from this "service". Therefore, on occasion, some of the
passengers serve as the patient's escorts, especially when the passengers
and the patient are blood related. In such cases, the person [i.e. the
patient] in possession of the medical authorizations lies on the bed [inside
the ambulance] while the rest of the passengers sit around him [see appendix
for an example of a blank medical authorization form found in a Palestinian
woman's possession at the Al-Ram checkpoint, north of Jerusalem].

Ambulance driver Abu Ahmad Nasser says: "There are those who believe that by
our actions we have turned into a taxi service. This is not true, since our
first and primary objective is to help [our] people. We will not transport
any person unless his medical condition demands it; that is, [we will
transport a patient only] if that patient carries an authorization given by
a physician or by a recognized hospital. [This phenomenon,] in particular,
[has developed] since the [Israeli] occupation troops often treat us
insolently and atrociously. Such treatment leads to the deterioration in the
[medical] condition of some patients and has even caused the death of some
of them. We are aware of the fact that there are those who misuse the
ambulances as taxi cabs and are not required [to present] a medical
authorization; however, we address the issue with due professionalism as
long as the person is ill and has a medical authorization. What is more, it
is our duty to ease the [Palestinian] people's suffering, even if that means
serving as taxi cabs."

Workers from Nablus constitute the highest percentage among those who use
the ambulance [emergency] services to get to their workplaces on time. The
main reason [for their action] is that the [Palestinian] establishments
where they work do not accept any excuse for arriving late-even if the city
the workers come from is under closure [by the Israelis] or is the site of a
military operation. This turns leaving the house [under such circumstances]
into a [forced] act of suicide.

Samira Karim , who works at a private [Palestinian] establishment, says:
"Due to the [existing] harsh economic conditions, I am forced to leave my
children with their grandmother in Nablus while I stay in Ramallah for five
days. Traveling on the roads is very difficult, especially on the way back
from Ramallah; many times I have to leave Nablus before the break of dawn so
that I can arrive [at my workplace] before 8 o'clock in the morning. Most of
the time we are exposed to insults at the Israeli checkpoints; sometimes we
are exposed to shooting as well. If we are absent [from work] for one reason
or another, the sum due will be deducted from our paychecks and we will be
reprimanded if we are late. The chance of us arriving late has become one
out of two. If we decide not to take a cab, we are obliged to ride an
ambulance and to play sick so that we can make it on the designated time.
The price for an ambulance ride is double and it also forces us to get
medical authorizations, but we have no choice."

The prices for an ambulance ride between Nablus and Ramallah range between
150 and 400 shekels. This is a standard fee that forces some of the city's
residents who work in the same place to arrange ambulance carpools and split
the fare.

Appendix

A pad containing blank medical authorization forms found in the possession
of a Palestinian woman at an IDF checkpoint

During a thorough search at the Al-Ram checkpoint, north of Jerusalem
(January 11, 2004), a Palestinian woman was found in the possession of a pad
containing blank medical authorizations (to be filled in) stamped by the
Jerusalem Al-Makassed Charitable Society, Israel's Clalit Health Services,
and the Austrian Clinic.

Authorizations such as these can be used by residents who ride ambulances
and even by those who wish to enter Israel to receive medical treatment.

Below is a photocopy of one such form:
www.intelligence.org.il/eng/tr/amb_1b_04.htm for illustrations