Beit Furik

 Translation: Snait G.

Marda
The gate is open, There are still big concrete blocs in Zeita

7.20   Za'tara

No zoning separation this morning.

At the checkpoint on the road from Tul karem 8 vehicles, passengers of a bus waiting near its door. When we left 12 minutes later, their Ids were being returned to them.

Three lanes at the Za'tara-Nablus checkpoint. Vehicles  go through quickly- it takes 1minute ordinary cars, about 2 for cab service- while the passengers Ids are being checked.  Around 53 vehicles in the queue.

No military activity at the Beita entrance, No active chekpoint at Burin- Yitzhar.

7.55 Beit Furik.

No vehicles waiting, Hardly any passing both ways.  Not too many people going through, their check-up is quick. Rachel helped a man with a Jordanian passport, who has been living for 10 years with his family in Beit Dajan to go through by calling  Nablus head quarters. We gave him the tel num of "Hamoked lehagant haprat", in hope they may be able o help.

8.25 Awarta

2-3 vehicles on queue to enter Nablus,  7  to exit. An Israeli Palestinian waiting in the parking lot in his car. Yesterday he was allowed to enter to see his family but today, upon exiting, was  told to wait for the police, as Israeli citizens are not allowed in. The temporary commander said that he regretted  these were to rules concerning him. Later on, thanks to Zvia's connection to a police officer at Ariel he was allowed to go( we came back from Huwwara for that about 45 minutes later, and while there saw two-back-to back unloading taking place).

8.55 Huwwara

No cars exiting Nablus, few cars entering, checked up quickly. X ray machine, No dogs,

Almost upon our arrival one detainee is  put in the cubicle, and 10 minutes later another one.  We asked the DCO person to take care of them.   The queue for women and older people moves fast. The one for younger men is slower, not many people, around 3 minutes per person.

The young women who serve as military policewomen are loud, impatient and  shrill towards the Palestinians, even though this is just morning time. At some stage they demanded that all men crowding around the turnstiles  exiting Nablus will go backwards and then proceed one by one( checkpoint rhyming).

We wenty back to Awarta( see above). The detainees were gone by the time we returned. Two cabs exiting Nablus were checked long and meticulously.  Rahcel tried to help a fellow who has been refused a magnetic card for a long time.

10.20 Za'tara

A long queue  of over 50 vehicles. Only two lanes were active and the commander claimed that he does not have enough soldiers to man a third one, because he gets extra people only for the early morning shift. Check-up takes 1-2 minutes    per vehicle.

In the parking lot bus passengers are waiting  in  half circle to get their Ids back. While the driver reads calls their names a military policewoman goes around and checks their bags- a procedure we have not seen before.  

At the Za'tara - Tul Karem CP 8 cars, a meticulous check-up of IDs.

 Numerous Palestinians referred to Anapolis when talking with us.

 Translation: Tal H.

The issue of soldiers punishing Palestinians at the Checkpoint came up at a meeting with the legal adviser of the West Bank command of the army, and lawyers Gabi Lasky and Smadar Ben Nathan who attended the meeting were told explicity that detention/delay may NOT be used as a punitive measure for any reason whatsoever. Detention is allowed only for conducting security checks of the detainee's data, and as soon as this check is completed, the detainee is to be released. Following procedures used by Huwara-Beit Furiq battalion commander at these two checkpoints, we filed a complaint with the legal adviser through the above named lawyers.

A vigil in the shadow of the Azzun and Funduq events. Cold and chilling.

Azzun village is closed and sealed. Concrete cubes blocks the central access to the village, and the Palestinians, in their determined, admirable battle for survival, have already organized to transfer goods and people 'back-to-back'. At the entry stands an army jeep with reserves soldiers, who disappear as soon as they notice our camera. We picked up Adam and Rachel, the international volunteers who were beaten up badly on Saturday  and whose cameras were stolen by the reservists at Azzun because they filmed them firing live ammunition in all directions above the heads of people in the village center. We picked them up so they could testify, as the head of the DCO in Qalqiliya recommended. We warned them not to sign anything not written in English, and sure enough, at Qedumim police station no one spoke English and they were sent back and invited to come the next day, perhaps the only English speaking woman around will be present and take their statement.

For lack of Palestinian transportation, they walked all the way to Funduq, where they were blocked by soldiers telling them that only Israelis, in other words colonists, were allowed to pass. After we intervened (Tami called the local brigade, and we the army hotline), the soldiers were instructed to let them through and even arranged a ride for them to Karnei Shomron colony after they said they were headed for Tel Aviv.

Rachel from Australia and Adam from England, charming, beautiful youngsters - answer our question what they're doing so far away from home: "That's what we've been asking ourselves..."

Funduq village is closed off and sealed, all the metal doors are shut and not a soul is seen on the main street. We meant to talk to people and take pictures of the damages but there was no one to talk to. On our way home, we see Palestinian vehicles coming from the west being directed to long, winding side roads full of flying roadblocks, while the main road through Funduq serves only colonist traffic. Massive presence of Border Patrol, army and police. A week too late.

Beit Furik Checkpoint: There's a judge at this checkpoint - the battalion commander:

15:30 - two men shackled and blindfolded sit in the detainee pen. One of them twists and turns uncomfortably, both bent over on the bench. A Palestinian passing through from Nablus to Beit Furik says that when he came into Nablus this morning (10:30 a.m.) those two were already sitting in this very position. The DCO officers are not available on the phone and a complaint to the army hotline rushes to the checkpoint a special patrol that arrives at 4:12 PM to relieve the two of their plastic handcuffs and blindfold and give them the leftovers of the soldiers' lunch and some bread. Then they are taken one by one to the latrine. We called DCO Nablus to ask about the deatinees and were told that "the battalion commander and everyone else are in the picture". Asking why they were detained, we are told "They probably did something". We want to know why they were held cuffed and blindfolded so long, and are informed that "there is probably a reason for this". When will they be released? "The battalion commander decided to have them released after 6 hours of detention".  Under the circumstances, it is obvious that the two are not under arrest or on a wanted list, and the "workshop" they are undergoing is an 'educational' measure, to teach them some of the battalion commander's doctrine.

At the checkpoint, many pedestrians bound for the villages, men standing almost touching the soldier who is conducting his checks are required to lift their shirts and show they're not bearing some explosive device on their bodies and have not come to assault soldiers. Or just for the sake of humiliating them. All veiled women are taken to the hold and- with the door left wide open - required to remove their veil and reveal their face. Cars are inspected to the point of rummaging.

One soldier takes the trouble to walk all the way to where we stand, just to threaten that if we dare cross the white line, he will close the checkpoint to Palestinians.

The threat was not carried out.

Huwwara Checkpoint - there is a judge at this checkpoint too and he is the battalion commander:

16:50 - the checkpoint  bustles with youngsters, yells and crowding behind the turnstiles. The Givati infantry soldiers here don't strain their vocal cords, using a manual megaphone to sound their "One by one..." "Get back!" mantras - all in vain for the youngsters crush against the turnstiles, dying to progress towards the exit and not to move backward. Some of the checks include a stripshow. A student comes out all nerves from this inspection: "I've been here since 3 o'clock!!" One soldier is responsible for chasing away those waiting at the other end, also in loud broken Arabic and gesticulation.
A MPwoman shrieks her orders at the Palestinians, and when they don't understand her, she raises her voice to an impossibly shrill pitch as she sends them on to the X-ray truck. The soldiers scold her not to screech like that.

All pedestrians coming out of the checkpoint report an hour-and-a-half to two hours of waiting.

In the detention cubicle - 2 detainees, who according to the soldiers 'Leaked... took the sneak bypass around the checkpoint". Therefore they are punished with a lengthy detention:
"The battalion commander approved of six hours", the checkpoint commander tells us.
Is it the same battalion commander?

Of the concrete cubicle, the hold, the soldiers say it is not a hold. It is a waiting cell for detainees.
Long live the laundered word.

We called the head of Nablus DCO about the six-hour long detention, asked if this is a new procedure. He expressed his amazement and promised to work his own strings. We said we intend to turn to the chief military advocate about the blatantly illegal proceeding.

We left at 18:00, in order to drive through Funduq and see how the armed forces do their job safeguarding the Palestinians from the colonist marauders, and where have they been all of last week...
The village is under full curfew and the main street is blacked out.

Natanya translating.

13.30 Za'tara/Tapuach CP. 12 cars in both directions.
 

13.45 Beit Furik. We are not allowed to pass the white line. The passage seems fairly open. The turnstile and checking is in the direction of Beit Furik and Nablus.
 

14.10 Huwwara CP.  2 detainees who were freed at 14.34 with the help of the DCO. A humanitarian line but the checking is slow.
Cars are checked with dogs.
A Swedish photographer is allowed to photograph at the checkpoint.
 

16.30 Za'tara/Tapuach Junc.  60 cars from the north and 12 from the west.

Translation: Hanna K.

06:30 Shomron Gate

There is no police barrier at the entrance

Marda:
The entrance is open, the entrance to Zeita is closed by concrete barriers

06:50 Za'tara

Coming from the west there are two cars, for cars from the north there is only one post open, there are two busses at the parking lot. Another post is being opened.

06:55 one bus is leaving

07:00 a second bus is leaving (about 20 minutes). Coming from the north there are about 30 cars in the queue.

Yitzhar - to Huwwara - open.

07:10 Huwwara

About 50 pedestrians waiting to be checked. Two posts open.

07:30 Beit Furik

There is no queue of cars in both directions. Very few people in the area of the CP. The CP commander asks us politely to return to the white line,an order from above. We met the DCO.

07:45 We left Beit Furik. The coffee counter owner (Ossama) has received an authorization for an ID and a number, but has to go to Beit El and arrange for a certificate, but has no road to get there, so in the meantime cannot pass on to Nablus.

07:50 Awarta

6 trucks at the entrance, 6-7 at the exit from Nablus. One of the soldiers it friendly towards us, and one soldier shouts at him that he should go back to the post. Only one lane is open for passage in the two directions. We are allowed to stand at the CP.

08:05 The CP commander arrives and asks us to remove ourselves to the concrete barriers.

08:15 Huwwara

There is a queue up to the end of the shed, there are only two posts open, as well as the humanitarian post. The Palestinians behind the turnstiles keep at distance of 12-2 meters from the turnstiles and do not push, they have probably been removed. A soldier girl: "all go back, wait". People leave the CP with their belt in their hand. A Palestinian collects a lot of food from a garbage cart (tomatoes, bananas, yoghurts etc.)

08:30 We left.

Za'tara - 50 cars coming from the north in a queue, 3 posts open. 18 cars from the west in the queue.

 Translation: Ruth F.

14:30- Marda-
The village was closed. A curfew. The village gate was closed and three soldiers, that refused to speak to us, were guarding it.  According to the Humanitarian Center some kids threw stones and that way the army put the village under a curfew from 12:30 to 15:30.
"They should educate their children better" said the soldiers to the Palestinians that were waiting behind the locked gate in the cold, wanting to get home.

Zaita- The villag is permanently blocked by cement bricks.
There were cabs on both sides of the checkpoint.

14:45- Za'tara Junction-
65 vehicles were waiting for their turn to pass from the northern side to the south.
 

15:15- Beit Furik-
A new white line (about three weeks old) stood in our way of coming close and fulfilling our duty. When we approached the soldiers swarmed at us, they were angry that were came. Even though we stood from a distance they still said we were bothering them and told us to stop taking photos.
We kept taking photos. On this point it's clear what is allowed and what is not: it's allowed.
There weren't many pedestrians or vehicles waiting to pass. 
For the first time in Beit Furik we saw a sniffing dog with his trainer. The explanation of the checkpoint commander H, was: "to do something that wasn't routine"
The soldiers explained to us that checkpoints were necessary to protect Itamar.

Some questions were brought up: 1. We don't know who came up with the white line idea and who decided that we had to obey it?

2. The white line causes us to stand from a distance- it's only valid on women from humanitarian organizations- only on them(!)- is it legal?
3. What are the lawyers' positions on this subject?
4. What is Machsom Watch's position on the idea that one must obey he line and what kind of a backup is given to us?
5. What have we done to try and eliminate this disturbance?
 

We would be happy if someone could refresh our memory.
 

15:40- Awrta-
At the exit from Nablus there were 8 empty trucks waiting. At the entrance to the checkpoint 9 trucks were waiting, they were full of merchandise.
 

15:50- Huwwara-
It was very cold. Wet. The checkpoint was extremely crowded. The average waiting time was of about two and a half hours. There was a DCL representative that after we spoke to him, tried making the inspections go faster.

There were two detainees in the cell. One of them had been there since 11:00 (he was released at 16:15)- he was detained after tried to avoid going through the inspection, to of course, even through the regulations say otherwise, he was punished.

There was much tension in the checkpoint and it was very crowded. Nothing had changed when we left at 17:30.

 Translation: Maureen A.

General Comments:  It is very very cold at Huwwara. In contrast to other Wednesday  mornings during the past few months, when there have only been a few people  who wanted to leave Nablus, there are at least 50 people waiting in line at any  given moment. The security examiners are intolerably slow.

7:20 Za'tara
 There are no vehicles coming from the west.
 There are 44 vehicles from the north, with more and more approaching as we  drive by the line.  Two security-check stations are open at this hour.
 We called A. at the IDF Humanitarian Centre and asked that they take some  action to relieve the pressure.

7:27 The checkpoints at the 57/60 junction are unmanned in every direction.  It's  the same on our way back.

7:30 Huwwara
 4 security-check stations are working. Even so, but for one man who reported  waiting only 10 minutes, all the others we spoke to – or those who spoke to us  of their own initiative – reported waiting an hour.

 The x-ray machine, which wasn't working when we arrived, is in use again  after a while. There's a table standing nearby.

7:45 We saw that one man had been detained in the solitary confinement area in the  back. His friends were waiting for him in the shed. They said he'd been  detained for between 30 – 60 minutes. Besides being their friend, they were  dependent on him, since he was their foreman on the job they were headed for  in Dir Balut. After a while he told them to go back home; there wouldn't be  any work today. This is just another way to 'contribute' to the destabilization  of the Palestinian economy.

 From the things the detainee says to the soldiers, we understand that he is  detained on a daily basis and he doesn't understand why. His brothers are in  jail. One of the soldiers explains the situation to him. First of all, he tells him,  he knows why he is detained and secondly, he should know that he is suffering  because of his brothers.

 Before we call the Humanitarian Centre, since there is no DCO at this hour,  we try our luck with the Checkpoint Commander (A.).  He is waiting for an  answer concerning the detainee. In our presence, he tries to find out what is  going on.

 Then we see 4 veiled women led by a female soldier, who is also accompanied  by a male soldier, being led to the security booth where women are checked.   Each of the women is checked separately.  When the security check is over,  the order "Imshi!" is heard, emphasized by a movement of the hand. While the  women are being checked, the detainee is released from the adjoining booth.

8:00 The x-ray machine starts to work.
 There are at least 10 cars in the line leaving Nablus.  They are all also being  checked slowly…checking the car itself, searching through the passengers'  personal belongings, having the men lift up their shirts, checking the  passengers' pants cuffs…all this standing around takes about 10 minutes,  according to our clock.

 One of the female soldiers doing the security check must have a piece of gum,  so the work stops until they find her some gum.

 It's not only that the security checking activities are fragmented – a man  approaches the turnstile; first he hands over his documents; then he has to step  back and, according to the rules, go back to the female security examiner; he  then has to go through the magnometer; the magnometer starts flashing red; ah  – it's his belt; he takes off his belt and goes through again; the magnometer  starts beeping; he removes his watch; goes through again; he forgot to take a  few coins out of his pocket; the magnometer starts beeping again; and on and  on till the green light flashes that he is 'clean'.  Then he has to show the  contents of his packages – however, at times the security checks stop for no  clear reason. Yes, this time it's that the Checkpoint Commander is busy  straightening out the line and imposing discipline on the people in it. It's no  wonder that no small number of those leaving Nablus are very upset and  express it out loud (not in too loud a voice, and definitely not near the  soldiers).

8:10 We called the Humanitarian Centre about the detainee.
8:30 The DCO representative, T., arrives together with their new DCO, S. We  inform them about the detainee.
8:35 There's another detainee.
9:00 The first detainee is released and goes on his way.
9:30 We left Huwwara and asked T., the DCO, to take care of the second detainee.

9:37 Beit Furik
 A few pedestrians arrive from time to time.
 There's one vehicle entering Nablus.
 There's an officers' patrol from the battalion at the Checkpoint.
9:55 We leave Beit Furik

10:00 Za'tara
 There are 20 cars leaving Nablus. None from the west.
 The owner of the little refreshments stand has opened shop during the  morning. It seems that the stand can be folded up and moved from place to  place.

Natanya translating.

13.50  Za'tara CP. 35 cars wait to go through.

14:15 Beit Furik CP.  where everything is calm and there are not many people

14.45 Huwwara. pressure because of the rain but no problems.

15.25 A young Palestinian tried to slip through and was caught.  He was taken to the isolation and stripped to see if he was carrying anything.
I stood in the other cell to see that they did not beat him.  
Another was caught trying to slip through, and was also sent to the isolation.We spoke to the commander and he was freed.

16.15 Again a young man was caught and   the commander told us he would free him also in half an hour.

16.45 We left and the checkpoint was almost empty.

Translation: Maureen A.

Even when everything looks "fine", relaxed and moving along, in actuality, nothing is "fine".  The routine of apartheid roads and checkpoints is hellish.

We thought that there would be a lot of checkpoints along the roads today, in light of the shooting near Punduk last night, but we were wrong.

7:45  -  The Za'tara Junction (Tapuach)
Is backed up in both directions, but no more than usual; about 27 vehicles from the west and about 20 from Nablus.  The security check is going quickly.

The Burin/YitzharJunction - the checkpoints in both directions are unmanned.

8:00  Beit Furik Junction -
There's a line of about 10 vehicles waiting to enter Nablus; only a few vehicles leaving the city.

Two soldiers are checking the vehicles, according to the usual procedure - the   first vehicle in line moves forward, stops, waits for the soldier's signal before approaching, the soldiers check the papers and the vehicle continues on its way. The drivers report a wait time of about 10 minutes today.  Yesterday, they say, the wait time was two hours.

As we walk towards the checkpoint, we are approached, as per usual lately, by the Checkpoint Commander, who reminds us of the white line, which we are not allowed to cross. It's important to point out that the white line keeps moving further and further away from the security check posts. (Does preventing us like this from approaching the station have any legal grounds?)

Only a few pedestrians approach the checkpoint; a vehicle arrives, the   passengers get out and go through the checkpoint on foot.

8:40 Hawwara Checkpoint  - 
The usual hustle and bustle; a lot of taxi drivers shouting out where they're headed for.
There's a strong, cold wind, but the sky is still blue.

The checkpoint for those leaving Nablus is crowded; loads of people waiting to leave the city.  There are two security-check posts open when we arrive.    Esti T. is already here with guests from Boston who came to see, firsthand, what they had only heard about the checkpoints before.

At any given time, there are about 100 people waiting to leave Nablus; the check moves quickly, but it is thorough.  All the men that go through the turnstile stop afterward in order to straighten their clothing, put things back in their pockets, put their jackets and belts back on.

The people who have gone through report a wait time of about an hour and a     half. The soldiers go about their business and don't bother with us. This allows us to move closer, even across the white line.

There is a young man in the solitary confinement area.  Once we have found T., the DCO representative, we learn that the young man arrived at the checkpoint carrying a knife, with the intention of killing someone and getting himself arrested.
There's a difficult story behind this: he was beaten at home; he went to work, where he was also beaten; he has nowhere to go, so he came to the checkpoint and wants to be arrested. The DCO representative, who doesn't believe his story, asked a Nablus resident who was nearby to speak to the boy; the boy sticks to his story.

The truth is that the soldiers didn't know what to do in this case.  The boy was in the corner of the solitary confinement area, scared silly, didn't want to eat or drink anything. T., the DCO representative, promised that they would do what they could.

A 17-year-old girl is detained; there is a discrepancy between the appendix to her request and her ID, and the number on her birth certificate. After the security check she is allowed to return to Nablus until she straightens out her paperwork.

Every once in a while someone is put into the solitary confinement area for a body check. One young man enters the area; he enters with a soldier whose loaded rifle is pointed at him. Another soldier is waiting outside and the door to the solitary confinement area is locked. The young man gets through the security check successfully, and goes on his way.

A woman with a baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms and a little boy holding on to her from behind comes along.  She is covered from head to foot, so the same procedure is used for her.  A female soldier goes into the area with her, the soldier's loaded rifle pointed at the woman, the door is locked, another female soldier guards from outside.  The woman also leaves and goes on her way.

At a certain point a humanitarian line is opened up, things start moving more quickly and people move through the checkpoint faster.

The sky gets cloudy, it will soon start raining. This will make impossible conditions even worse.

For some strange reason, very few people are headed for Nablus.

Vehicles - There are few vehicles entering or exiting the city.  Passage is quick.

10:00  -  We left; on the way back, we see the same thing as before - at the Za'tara Junction (Tapuach) there's a line of 20 cars in each direction.

Natanya translating.

13.30     4 soldiers guard the hitching post next to Arieal and they are still there at 17.00 when we return.

13.40 The road to Marda is open.
          The road to Zeita is still closed with cement blocks and 4 cars
          wait on either side.

13.50 The crossroads of Za'tara (Tapuach). 
7 cars in either direction.  A bus with 20 people wait to be checked. People wait on the road and have been there for 5 minutes but at Huwwara they had been detained for 45 minutes.  
The soldier checks efficiently and frees them. We spoke to the commander who says that there is an alert concerning a terrorist attack on military positions.
 

14.05  At the village of Huwwara stand a police jeep opposite the mosque but we did not see who was sitting inside.
 

14.10 Beit Furik.  We go to the turnstiles and are chased away by the commander. Only beyond the white line. This is done he says to prevent a terrorist attack and we go to the other side of the white line. The checkpoint is decorated by the flags of the blue and white women. We asked the commander how it happened that we were not allowed into the same areas and he says that this had not taken place during his shift and he knows nothing about it.

3 soldiers sit in the enclosure and eat their lunch.

Hardly any pedestrians and whoever does arrive goes through without delay. We could not see what was happening.

Cars arriving from Nablus are checked and trucks even have their wheels checked.
From the direction of Beit Furik as truck waits 25 minutes while 4 cars come up behind it.  One of the drivers ask if we cannot help because he has been there 30 minutes and says the soldiers have no heart.

14.45 Huwwara.
We find a television crew there.

3 women with a newborn baby, two older women and one very young girl whom we can see is not well. Her face is yellow and she can hardly walk. The soldiers allow them to go through without even going through the humanitarian line and they get into a taxi.

One detainee who tried to slip through and who is freed 15 minutes later.

The line progresses with no special occurrences. Sometimes the men have to lift or take off an article of clothing.

An elderly man turns to us and asks why there had been no Machsomwatch shift the previous day. He had been detained for three hours in the usual line and 45 minutes in the humanitarian line. We asked how long it had taken today and the answer is from 30 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes.

15.20 An elderly couple arrive at the checkpoint and go into the humanitarian line. They are religious.  The commander says that they are the parents of a soldier who is serving at the checkpoint.

15.30 A TV  crew of 6-7 people with cameras and television. They say that they are from Al J'azira International, CNN and EPA.

Why today?  Because there is a demonstration which is due to arrive from Nablus and they say also from the Israeli side. The soldiers allow them to photograph  the humanitarian line  and truly the demonstration arrives. 3 Palestinian flags and about 25-30 people singing and shouting slogans . The soldiers close the car lane  and put a Hummer there to stop the progress of the people. They call for reinforcements  and within minutes 5 jeeps arrive, another Hummer and a police jeep. The TV group is laughing ...there are many more soldiers armed to the teeth than demonstrators who are armed with flags.

15.45 An ambulance with sirens blaring arrives. The entrance to Nablus is blocked by the demonstration and it will have to go a different way.

15.50 Next to the humanitarian line sits a handicapped man with his crutches at his side. He is waiting for his taxi to get permission to go through. 20 other cars arrive. While all this is going on people keep passing steadily. In the usual line a military policewoman has started to educate people as to how to stand.

16.00 The demonstration is ended and the soldiers leave. The car lane once more starts to move.
At 16.15 the line emptied.
 

16.40 Za'tara (Tapuach)  16 cars in either direction.