International Checkpoint Watch - Daily Observations

Date: February 19, 2002

Place Monitored:  Surda

Time:  14:00-16:30

Events Witnessed:  

An ICW volunteer witnessed Israeli soldiers repeatedly kick three Birzeit University students as they lay face down on the ground and bound by the hands at Surda checkpoint.  The volunteer stated that he attempted to talk to the soldiers, however he was forcefully pushed back by Israeli soldiers.  There were at least six soldiers at the checkpoint.  Four more volunteers arrived at Surda checkpoint by 3:00 p.m. 

When second group of ICW volunteers arrived, two of the students were laying on the ground face down and the third student was standing, all three bound by their hands behind their backs and surrounded by several Israeli soldiers. An ambulance had been waiting near the checkpoint for over thirty minutes.  The medics were not allowed to tend to the students and the medics stated that they were threatened to be shot at by Israeli soldiers if they attempted to approach the students.  One international woman stated that she witnessed the Israeli soldiers kicking the students about their heads as they lay on the ground. 

ICW volunteers approached the checkpoint and inquired to the treatement and condition of the students.  One of the students was bleeding from his eye and his nose.   We asked the soldiers if they would allow the medics to take a look at the students. They refused.  They denied kicking the students about the head and the commander insisted that the woman was not sure of what she had seen.  We stated that the soldiers were inhumanely abusing and humiliating the students, one of the soldiers stated "If you ever watched NYPD, it's exactly like this". 

The Israeli soldiers attempted to stop one volunteer from videotaping the students on the ground by placing his body in front of the camera.  The soldiers then immediately picked up the student that was bleeding, blindfolded him and put him into a jeep and drove off.    We insisted that the soldiers treat the students humanely, but they refused to allow the other student to get up off the ground, stating that he had committed a crime. 

At 3:15 The commander cut the plastic handcuffs and released the student that had been standing.  We continued to talk to the soldiers in an attempt to advocate for the third student that still had his face to the ground.

3:30 One of the soldiers went into the crowd of people and grabbed the Palestinian student that they had just released fifteen minutes earlier because he was interviewing with a news agency.  The soldier threw the student into their concrete hut and forced him to squat.  The student was forced to squat for half an hour before being arrested and taken away in a jeep.   The soldiers admitted that they had taken him back because he had been speaking to a journalist. 

3:35 The commander cut off the plastic hand cuffs and released the third student that had been laying on the ground.  We then witnessed dirt bootprints on the student's head.  When we asked the commander what that was on the student's head, he stated "a bootprint".  We then waited with the last student to get his I.D. back from the soldiers. 

4:30 Student was given his I.D. back, ICW volunteers leave.  Videofootage available.  Still photos available upon request.