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Khalil Suleiman
Khalil Suleiman (Arabic: خليل سليمان) (1943/1944–4 March 2002) was a Palestinian doctor and the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Emergency Medical Service in Jenin. He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 2002 while traveling in an ambulance to rescue the wounded during the Second Intifada. LifeSuleiman was a doctor. Around 1982, he began volunteering with the PRCS and later served as the head of the PRCS Emergency Medical Service in Jenin for 10 years.[1] Beginning in 1996, he conducted first aid trainings throughout 40 villages in the West Bank as part of a health education project funded by Norwegian People's Aid.[2] DeathIDF attack on ambulanceOn March 4, 2002, Suleiman was traveling in a clearly marked ambulance[3] while attempting to rescue a wounded girl from Jenin.[2][4][1] According to the PRCS director and a physician at the Jenin Hospital, the ambulance's trip had been pre-approved by the IDF.[5] The IDF fired at the ambulance, hitting the oxygen tanks and causing a fire.[6][7][8][5] Sources differ on the weapon used, pointing to gunfire,[4][9] tank shell,[3][2] or rifle-mounted grenade.[10][5] Another ambulance team was dispatched to treat the casualties but was prevented from reaching the site of the attack because the IDF fired on their ambulance, wounding them.[5] Suleiman died.[4][11] In total, five PRCS workers from the two ambulances were injured,[1][4][5] including two who were hospitalized with burns.[10] In an interview with B'Tselem, a man who lived nearby said that the IDF had taken over an upstairs bedroom in his home the day of the attack. The eyewitness stated that he watched the commander fire a grenade at Suleiman’s ambulance from the bedroom window. The grenade hit the windshield, and the ambulance was then engulfed in flames. The next day, he saw that the ambulance had crashed into a house and burned completely.[5] Suleiman's funeral was held on March 5. The procession through Jenin was led by doctors wearing white coats. He was buried in Jenin.[9] ReactionsThe IDF accused Palestinians of using ambulances for military purposes[12] and pointed to the fact that the ambulance had exploded when hit: "which raises questions about what was in it and what the intent of the drivers was."[13] Later, they stated that the soldiers had fired on the ambulance in self-defense after it “charged toward them at a high speed from an area in which there were exchanges of fire”.[13][12][8] According to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch and Reuters, Suleiman's ambulance was attacked while it was moving slowly[8] on a narrow street.[6] Additionally, the IDF called the attack a "tragic aberration".[8] The Israeli Embassy in Canada said that the attack was not intentional and mentioned that Wafa Idris, a Palestinian paramedic, had carried out a suicide bombing.[12] The International Red Cross (ICRC) released a statement advocating for "both sides to respect the safety and security of emergency health personnel". The ICRC noted that Suleiman was the second PRCS worker killed in the Second Intifada and that so far 122 PRCS workers and six Magen David Adom workers had been injured.[1] .png) The attack was condemned by several organizations. Norwegian People's Aid stated that: "Israel's indiscriminate killing of medical rescue personnel and civilian refugees in Jenin amounts to state terrorism".[2] The European Commission noted that the ambulance was one of six that ECHO had donated to PRCS in January 2001 and called the attack a "grave breach of the IVth Geneva Convention".[10] Human Rights Watch released a statement entitled: "Israel: Cease Attacking Medical Personnel" after the IDF fired on three ambulances in one week, injuring nine and killing three ambulance workers, including Suleiman. They stated that "deliberate attacks on medical personnel, vehicles and infrastructure constitute a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions."[6] The National Arab American Medical Association condemned Suleiman's death as "murder" and denounced "the systematic targeting of ambulances and health care workers by the Israeli occupation army."[7] Suleiman's death and other Israeli attacks on healthcare in the West Bank were mentioned in reports by several organizations including Amnesty International, B'Tselem,[5] Physicians for Human Rights-US,[14] and the United Nations Secretary-General.[3] LegacyThe Jenin Governmental Hospital is now also known as the Martyr Doctor Khalil Suleiman Hospital.[15][16][17] The hospital director said that the purpose of the renaming was: "to remember a person, a national hero, who sacrificed to save others."[18] His brother's son was named Khalil in his memory.[citation needed] In 2015, a ceremony was held to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Suleiman's death.[19] External LinksReferences
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