fakeredditor
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fakeredditor177 karma
I'm not OP, but I did ride as a medic with Magen David Adom in 2002 during the Intifada. I split my time between the stations in Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ariel. My partner was an Israeli Arab and a damn good paramedic.
With regards to true Palestinians, who typically work for Red Crescent (the official ambulance service of the Palestinian Territories)... it's a mixed bag. There is very little crossover. They are in their "country" and we were in "ours." The only time we would cross paths was in Israeli hospitals - they would occasionally transport patients across the border into Israel to get higher level medical care than was available in the West Bank.
When it's just one person standing face to face with another, there is usually mutual respect. We respected them, they respected us, we would crack jokes about working in identical professions, etc.
On an organization level, there was less trust. Pre-2000 or so, Palestinian ambulances were usually given free passage across the border, minimal searches, etc. However, after several Red Crescent ambulances were caught transporting Palestinians (usually children) into Israel with bombs hidden under the stretcher, that policy ceased. Suicide bomb vests would be manufactured in the West Bank (frequently the city of Kalqilya) and then they would be smuggled into Israel inside Ambulances to be later detonated on a city bus. Once you pull that shit a couple times, people tend to be a lot less welcoming and friendly.
fakeredditor698 karma
I admire your courage and your tenacity. And your stretchiness.
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