American State Department legal advisor John Bellinger said Tuesday that he has been urging Israel to ease restrictions on checkpoint examinations of Arab ambulances, which in the past have been used to carry out terrorists attacks in violation of the Geneva Convention.

"We have been urging the Israeli government at the highest levels to cut through the red tape, still in accordance with their laws," Bellinger said at a news conference in Geneva. Magen David Adom and the Palestinian Red Crescent organizations agreed two years ago to cooperate in rescue operations and are discussing further agreements.