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On the dusty window of new booth I detect an inscription traced in the dust in Russian: "DEATH TO ALL THE ARABS". I draw the soldier's attention to it. He calls a Russian-speaking soldier who confirms this, and refuses to erase it "because I didn't write it". The commander arrives and the inscription is erased along with another one on the other window, which I haven't had time to read.
At 08:00 or so a veritable spring-cleaning begins: a segeant-major arrives with a crew, plastic-bags and brooms. At least it is done by the soldiers. In the past when the checkpoint was cleaned (if it was cleaned at all) it was done by Palestinians.
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Beit Iba, Tue 4.12.07, Morning
Place:
Beit Iba
Observers: Shlomit S, Elinoar B
07:45-08:45 – The construction work is practically finished, but the passage is still shared by everybody: men, women and "humanitarians" (e.g the elderly). Most people entering the city are checked randomly. The checkpoint commander instructs the checking soldier to let people pass freely whenever there is a congestion. Under 16-year-olds unaccompanied by a parent are not allowed to enter Nablus and are sent back.
At the exit side the vehicles are checked thoroughly. There are only a few vehicles entering the city, as only few get a permit to do so.
On the dusty window of new booth I detect an inscription traced in the dust in Russian: "DEATH TO ALL THE ARABS". I draw the soldier's attention to it. He calls a Russian-speaking soldier who confirms this, and refuses to erase it "because I didn't write it". The commander arrives and the inscription is erased along with another one on the other window, which I haven't had time to read.
At 08:00 or so a veritable spring-cleaning begins: a segeant-major arrives with a crew, plastic-bags and brooms. At least it is done by the soldiers. In the past when the checkpoint was cleaned (if it was cleaned at all) it was done by Palestinians.
Beit Iba
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A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank. From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.
Jun-4-2014Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
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