Qalandiya, Mon 20.10.08, Afternoon
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Observers:
Soli (reporting) with a Spanish television crew and a Spanish volunteer , Regina
Oct-20-2008
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Afternoon
On this day, there was not a scheduled shift, but the Spanish television
crew wanted to film the activities of Machsomwatch. We arrived at 16:00 and the
checkpoint was quiet because of the holiday. Therefore, we postponed the
filming until the following Wednesday. When we were ready to leave, we detected
a Palestinian ambulance that was transporting a child with heart problems and
was delayed by the soldiers while an Israeli ambulance that was supposed to be
there to pick up the sick person was held up on the way. We tried to convince
the soldiers to allow the ambulance to cross, and the meanwhile the Spanish crew
started to film. The meanwhile, the sick child was transferred to the Israeli
ambulance. While I was still speaking with the soldiers, the Spanish
photographer was stopped and screamed at. I ran to the place where he was
filming, identified myself as a member of machsomwatch and said that the crew
was functioning according to the law and was not filming any secret military
site. The soldiers continued screaming and a confrontation between me and them
developed which was recorded but not filmed. After some time, the soldiers grew
weary, ordered us to leave and not to bother them and and released the
photographer. The crew is interested in returning to Qalandiya next Wednesday
and is especially interested in interviewing those coming and going. They were
impressed by the aggression exhibited by the soldiers toward them and the
derogatory way in which they behaved.
crew wanted to film the activities of Machsomwatch. We arrived at 16:00 and the
checkpoint was quiet because of the holiday. Therefore, we postponed the
filming until the following Wednesday. When we were ready to leave, we detected
a Palestinian ambulance that was transporting a child with heart problems and
was delayed by the soldiers while an Israeli ambulance that was supposed to be
there to pick up the sick person was held up on the way. We tried to convince
the soldiers to allow the ambulance to cross, and the meanwhile the Spanish crew
started to film. The meanwhile, the sick child was transferred to the Israeli
ambulance. While I was still speaking with the soldiers, the Spanish
photographer was stopped and screamed at. I ran to the place where he was
filming, identified myself as a member of machsomwatch and said that the crew
was functioning according to the law and was not filming any secret military
site. The soldiers continued screaming and a confrontation between me and them
developed which was recorded but not filmed. After some time, the soldiers grew
weary, ordered us to leave and not to bother them and and released the
photographer. The crew is interested in returning to Qalandiya next Wednesday
and is especially interested in interviewing those coming and going. They were
impressed by the aggression exhibited by the soldiers toward them and the
derogatory way in which they behaved.