Palestinian ambulances often have to wait hours before they can reach or pass checkpoints. Instead of being waved through, they are frequently held at gunpoint while another soldier goes around to screen the back of the vehicle.

The reason given for holding up ambulances often even longer than normal civilian vehicles, is that in the pas these ambulances have allegedly been used to transport weapons, or people wanted by the Israeli government. Research shows that there is a total of one documented incident of Palestinian ambulance possibly being abused in this way. But, even if they were being abused, remember that this Palestinian ambulance is traveling from a Palestinian village to a Palestinian city. It’s not traveling from the West Bank to Israeli areas, and that’s where the majority of these checkpoints are located, between built-up Palestinian areas. It makes me question how holding up this ambulance, consequently endangering the lives of the people inside of it, contributes to the safety or security of the Israeli population?