PRCS in Tal Al-Rumaida… mending wounds in the heart of danger

In Hebron, PRCS teams are doubling their efforts and its EMTs and volunteers are taking huge risks in order to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Palestinian families in Tal Al-Rumaida neighborhood, located in the heart of Hebron.

For onlookers, this neighborhood seems like a great big prison amidst the houses taken over by settlers on all sides, and surrounded by gates, roadblocks and barbed wire. Citizens may not access the zone or leave it without a pass or without coordination, which may take many long days.

Tal Al-Rumaida residents are subjected daily to dozens of attacks perpetrated by settlers, to say nothing of attacks against ambulances which rush to the area to assist the local population, only to be met by hails of stones, while their team members are beaten, tormented and delayed at roadblocks.

Amidst these very harsh living conditions and continued attacks, Mrs. Madiha Abou Haykal (70) lives with her family under a tight blockade. Citizens from surrounding areas in the Old City of Hebron are unable to communicate with her or her neighbors.

A mere few meters away from her house, settlers have taken over neighboring houses in what is known as the “Ramat Yishai” settlement where they are guarded by dozens of soldiers. They also surround another family in the middle of the settlement, the Abu Aisha family.

Abou Haykal’s life can be summarized by the tears flowing on her cheeks as she talks to us. She mentions daily harassment actions perpetrated by settlers and their children with the help of soldiers. They break windows, puncture water tanks and sabotage sewerage networks.

Herself and nine other people living in the house are subject to special measures set forth by the occupation and its settlers, such as being prohibited from making any use whatsoever of one of the rooms, from turning on the lights in another, while other parts of the house may not be renovated or improved.

The lives of Abou Haykal and her children and grandchildren have reached a tremendous level of suffering, which has compelled them to resort to using utensils from a foregone age such as kerosene burners. Furthermore, no-one is permitted to access the house through the front door, and many are refused access through the pass by road.

Mrs. Abou Haykal suffers from a number of chronic illness necessitating a continued medical and humanitarian intervention, which PRCS EMTs and volunteers are endeavoring really hard to provide her with, despite having been attacked on many previous occasions.

According to Mrs. Abou Haykal, “hadn’t it been for the PRCS people, I would have left home a long time ago, or else I would be dead by now. May Allah keep them safe and give them long lives. They are always ready to serve, whenever we need them”.

She goes on: “I am in constant need of medical care, and there is one periodical medical test that I need to undergo. They would come to transport me there. Once, settlers started throwing stones at us, despite the fact that the operation had been coordinated in advance. They nearly destroyed the ambulance but were unable to affect the morale of the PRCS guys who continue to come to our house”.

Hajja Abou Haykal continues her description of the role played by PRCS teams in the city, trying to relieve its suffering and mend its wounds. “PRCS, she says, are standing by me. I am tremendously in their debt. They risk their lives, being stopped by settlers throwing stones at them. Nevertheless, they feel no fear and never hesitate to assist me and my family”.

Her daughter, Hala Abou Haykal, recounts the story of an attacks perpetrated by settlers against a PRCS ambulance last April, while on the way back home from the hospital, even after all the necessary coordination through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

She says: “On the way back home, we headed towards the checkpoint. After a half hour delay and having crossed three roadblocks on the way home, settlers cut the road ahead of us and tried to open the ambulance doors. They threw stones at the vehicle, one of which broke through the rear window. Our lives would have been in grave danger if it weren’t for the courage of EMTs who were able to miraculously get us out of there and take us home”.

Mrs. Abou Haykal’s daughter commended the efforts exerted by PRCS EMTs to penetrate the occupation’s blockade of the area in order to provide emergency assistance and humanitarian services. They walk over long distances, between the trees at night to help mend their wounds.

In addition to praising PRCS, Abou Haykal also praised the efforts of ICRC staff in coordinating the passage of ambulances and in transporting the family in and out of this tight blockade, and further commended their swift responsiveness.

Dr. Hijazi Abou Meizer, PRCS’ EMS director in Hebron, described the situation of Mrs. Abou Haykal by saying: “She lives in an area where all her neighbors are settlers. She is sick and old, suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease; and has to constantly be transported to hospital, where she would undergo weekly and monthly medical checkups. Our access to her neighborhood has to be coordinated with the ICRC, which normally takes half an hour. However, the occupation always delays things on purpose and, despite the coordination efforts, we still get stoned by settlers”.

EMT Eid Abou Menshar and his colleague Mohammad Al Jaabari have been stoned. In one instance where they were transporting Mrs. Abou Haykal, their ambulance was seriously damaged, to say nothing of the many obstacles they have to overcome at each time.

Abou Menshar recounted the stoning incident, saying that “Mrs. Abou Haykal was in the vehicle with us and an Israeli police car was leading the way. Settlers blocked the way and showered us with stones, hitting and smashing the rear windshield.”

He went on to say that “on a different occasion, she was being transported in an emergency, when stones began falling on the vehicle and one landed inside the rescue compartment”. He noted that, on yet another occasion, the granddaughter of Mrs. Abou Haykal was beaten and tormented.

Finally, Abou Menshar spoke on behalf of his colleagues saying that “despite the major risks and continued attacks, we shall not hesitate to provide assistance to the Abou Haykal family and to anyone who might require this assistance in Tal Al-Rumaida. We will remain in contact with them”. He added that PRCS is providing national ambulance services by virtue of a Presidential Decree issued in 1994, running 36 EMS centers in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.

It should be noted that actions by occupation soldiers and settlers against the Abou Haykals are in violation of international laws, as are settlements in general. The fact that occupation forces have prohibited the transit of food and medical supplies and other necessities goes against the obligations of the Israeli occupying state pursuant to Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Furthermore, Article 55 of the said convention compels the occupying state to provide food and medical supplies to the population of the occupied region as they are civilians under occupation. This obligation must be borne by the occupier.

International Humanitarian Law expert, Motassem Awad said that “the actions of the Israeli occupation forces in Tal Al-Rumaida, Hebron, constitute a clear violation of the most basic human rights laws which guarantee the protection of medical teams in charge of seeking, evacuating, transporting, diagnosing, treating and providing rescue services to patients, casualties and disaster victims.

“Furthermore, he added, consideration should be given to the dignity and lives of the civilian population under military occupation. Not fulfilling this obligation is a violation of Article 20 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection and respect of personnel engaged in the search for, removal and transporting of and caring for wounded and sick civilians, as well as Article 63 of the same convention, which insists on the fact that National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies shall be able to pursue their humanitarian activities under the temporary and exceptional measures imposed for urgent reasons of security by the Occupying Power”.

Awad noted that Articles 12 and 15 of Protocol I (1977) Additional to the Geneva Conventions stipulate that “medical units shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack; and that they shall have access to any place where their services are essential, without obstacles”.

Abou Haykal’s story is but one among so many others, endured by Palestinians under such tragic conditions where they are the object of persistent attacks by settlers, while PRCS is trying hard to mend their wounds and alleviate their suffering.